Unlucky Seven
by Susan Hilton
Summary: Miss Lincoln and Gary Seven have some misadventures while trying to protect the real Zefram Cochran from the Borg. A sequel to "The Littlest Rogue" Please review.
1. The Real Zefram Cochran

Unlucky Seven

Chapter One

Roberta's son Nick was a strikingly handsome young man, with short dark wavy hair and hazel eyes. He resembled a younger version of his mother's dearest friend and colleague, Pavel Chekov. At this moment in time, he was sitting across from Mr. Seven at his office desk, staring at his mother's photograph, taken when she was a young woman. He had recently experienced something that he once thought only possible in the movies; getting to meet a much younger version of his mom twenty years before he was born. Nick was told that after she had subdued Bester, some of the freed telepaths had elected to stay on twentieth century Earth, but most had emigrated to other planets and the distant future in the Federation universe. The caretaker of Epsilon Three in the alternate universe had decided to limit the use of the newly discovered Guardian portal to one individual or family per month, so the Psi Corps would not soon become suspicious. The telepaths and Draal knew that they were playing a dangerous game, for the young man named Byron, who had helped Bester's little girl escape the station, had faked his demise with his and his fellow telepaths' skills and was now working for Draal. Delenn had gratefully handed over the Underground Railroad reigns to him, and was sworn to secrecy about his trickery. On this day, Roberta had been assigned to bring a certain dignitary from the late twenty-first century, who after inventing warp drive, had settled on a planet in the Alpha Centauri system, to twentieth century Earth via Seven's transporter.

"She was so beautiful…." Nick sighed wistfully, still staring at the photograph.

"She still is, Nick." Supervisor 194 answered softly.

"Yes, of course she is." Nick looked up at him, concern for his mother's safety evident on his face. "Where is she now, sir?"

"Like I said, bringing the man who will first develop warp drive in the latter part of the next century here where he will be safe. She will be eventually guarding him from a serious threat to Earth."

"What's that, sir?"

Supervisor 194 stood, activated the hidden computer and sighed.

"The Borg." The supervisor knew what Nick's reaction would be without looking.

"You mean we still haven't seen the last of those horrible beings? Poor Mom!"

"Your mom is safe for now, Mr. Ginsberg. It's Mr. Cochran we have to be worried about. If the Borg set their tinny claws on him, humanity is doomed, and that's not the worst of it. They also have been after me for many years. So far, I have been able to elude them with our advanced alien technology, but I'm sure they will eventually catch up with me." He looked into the young man's face. "You saw what kinds of beings the Borg are first-hand. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. That's why we have assigned and trained another agent to impersonate Mr. Cochran." He pointed to two photographs that had appeared on the computer's monitor. He pointed to one of them and continued. "This guy will eventually end up destroying the real Mr. Cochran's reputation, but he will get the job done. Don't worry about your mom, son. She will be all right. The real Mr. Cochran is due to arrive here any moment, via our secret transporter."

"He's being brought here because of the Borg threat?"

"Correct. He will be safe here in the past."

As Seven answered, the panels that concealed the safe-like transporter parted and the large brown vault door opened. There was a blue mist visible for a moment and a good-looking man appeared, dressed in an orange jumpsuit. Soon after, the young Roberta Lincoln appeared and smiled at them both. At this point in time, she was still dating his future father, Maury Ginsburg.

"Mission accomplished, sir. After I explained the dire situation brewing in the next century, Mr. Cochran agreed to accompany me here." She glanced at the handsome sandy-haired gentleman who had stepped out of the transporter, now looking around the room curiously. "Funny he isn't at all like the bozo who is impersonating him."

Seven smiled.

"Of course, but the important thing is that the folks from the twenty-fourth century will accept him as the real article."

"How could they possibly accept that obnoxious, horse-faced, womanizing twit as the real Mr. Cochran?"

"As you know, Miss Lincoln, Memory Alpha's records were destroyed concerning the real Zefram by non-corporeal energy beings in the twenty-third century. In the twenty-fourth century, his likeness and reputation were altered by the agent who is now impersonating our visitor here."

"What's Memory Alpha?" Nick asked.

"It was…or will be…an archive of stored data, containing all of the collected knowledge of Federation worlds. It had, or will have, the same function as a public library, where different species could conduct research on a variety of subjects."

"It's so sad that the data concerning our guest here was destroyed, but fortunate that the Borg did not gain access to it." Roberta said thoughtfully. "If they had, all the Federation worlds would probably have been assimilated."

"Correct, agent 258. They would have been, even though the method of data storage would have been crude by their standards. Fortunately, the Borg did not have knowledge of Memory Alpha at the time, since Starfleet didn't encounter the Borg for another century."

"How did they encounter them? You said the Borg are in the Delta quadrant, thousands of light years from here."

"You don't want to know." Seven said seriously, noting with relief that she forgot to put on her necklace endowed with Q powers this morning. He knew that a Q had saved her life on more than one occasion and had become a good friend to her. Revealing that one of them was responsible for introducing the Borg to humanity would change her opinion of them radically. It was best that she didn't know.


	2. Alpha Centauri

Unlucky Seven,

Chapter Two

To Miss Lincoln's relief, this newest assignment had been relatively easy. Before departing in Seven's transporter for Alpha Centauri, she had been given a quick description of the planet she was about to visit and dressed accordingly. She donned a lovely sleeveless white a-line mini dress, dotted with red printed flowers. She also wore white round mod sunglasses. On her feet were anklets and red tennis shoes. She also carried a prim little blue overnight case, which she held in a gloved hand. Although she had been told all her life by her stuffy parents that it was improper and might be risky to meet a man without a chaperone, she was not a conventional girl and rebelled against tradition and convention every chance she got or when she felt she could get away with it. This was definitely one of those times, now that her parents knew what she really did for a living. She was very excited and a little nervous to learn that she would be traveling solo on this mission and that she would be going to the nearest star system, approximately a century into the future. She had inquired about Isis, but was simply told she was on an undercover assignment.

Roberta had previously accompanied Seven to the year 2063 on Earth in the state of Montana where she was introduced to the agent who was impersonating the man whom she was now bringing into the past, and she didn't like the imposter's suggestive leers and his lame pickup lines. He was also old enough to be her father and quite unattractive. Seven knew what kind of man he was, and she appreciated his fatherly protective presence. Miss Lincoln was introduced to the impersonator a week before the crew of the Enterprise-E was due to arrive, so there was no danger of encountering the Borg or of interfering with the crew of the Enterprise-E or their mission. However, Seven urged her to stick close to him, for the inhabitants of Earth in this time period could be very violent. She had also learned that this era was post World War Three, and she was now witnessing first hand the same kind of damage to the Earth that Seven had averted in 1968. She was shocked to learn that now the inhabitants of Earth faced an even graver threat than nuclear war; namely, the Borg. Even though the much older male agent was successful at his mission and pulling off his masquerade, he was rude and crude. She had sincerely hoped that the real Mr. Cochran was not like that, and was doubly relieved to learn from Mr. Seven that he was a very nice man, and much better looking as well.

When she arrived at Alpha Centauri, despite the very strange surroundings she found herself in, the actual Mr. Cochran put her at ease and did not act wolfishly towards her, and, unlike the imposter, was very considerate and respectful.

Alpha Centauri was a binary system, which accounted for the two bright suns in the sky. The planet also had three moons; two were visible during the day. Before she left on her mission, Seven had been in contact with the planet's officials.

The people in this system were humanoid in appearance, with high bulbous foreheads. They were a space faring race and resembled the aliens in the movie "This Island Earth" and had recently joined the newly formed United Earth Space Probe Agency, which, in a few years, would be the governing body of Starfleet Command.

Mr. Seven had been reluctant to mention the reason why Mr. Cochran was being brought back into the past, but after some consideration about the urgency of Miss Lincoln's mission, finally told her that she would be bringing him to the past to keep him safe from the Borg and he was secretly attempting to keep him from launching a probe called Friendship One, which, in a few hundred years, would explode in an alien atmosphere, creating a nuclear holocaust, nearly wiping out the indigenous humanoid population.

Even though Roberta had forgotten to don her necklace with the Q powers when assigned to pick up the real Mr. Cochran, she had come to the conclusion that her mission had something to do with the Borg when she had met the imposter. She had been wearing the necklace endowed with Q powers at that time, having been informed what kind of man Cochran's impersonator was, and was quite uncomfortable at the thought of meeting him. It was not unusual for the supervisor to remain tight-lipped about certain things, and she had the distinct impression that he was trying to protect her from something. She also had a strange feeling that the fake Cochran's lady friend named Lily was also an undercover agent. She appreciated Seven's presence, even though it had been several months since she had been rescued from the machine beings. She was getting intensely curious about how the Borg was introduced to humanity and wished she had worn her necklace so she could pick his brain. This time, for some unfathomable reason, it did not appear around her neck. She sighed and felt that she had now fully recovered from being abducted and partially assimilated. She also sensed that this easy solo assignment was Seven's way to make up for that and to point out to her that not every alien species was like the Borg. She, of course, had known that when she became friends with Isis, Scarlet and Saavik. This was the first time she was able to relax and enjoy herself, even on the hot arid alien world circling Alpha B.

Cochran had graciously explained who he was to her and had no problem complying with her request to accompany her back in time to twentieth century Earth. He was living on Alpha B, a planet the locals called Meta in its northern hemisphere, where the weather was a bit more temperate. Still, it reminded her of a fall day in Mississippi, a state she had visited in her childhood. They chatted for a time, and he gave her something cool to drink from a replicator. It was the first time she ever saw one, and she marveled at the technology. The Metans were more advanced technologically than Humans, but got along well with the Earth man who had settled there a few years after his historic space flight with the Earth's very first warp capable spaceship. For decades, they had been quietly monitoring radio and television signals from Cochran's home planet, learning all they could about Earthlings. They were fascinated by humans, and were not too surprised when the first human arrived with a Vulcan as a guide. They were cordial but cautious at first, until they got to know Cochran. One of the planet's officials admitted that there was a time during the late twentieth century when one of their top scientists decided to send a signal to Earth, but then quickly thought better of it. The signal lasted for thirty seconds and became known on Earth as the "Wow!" signal. The Metans did not repeat the signal, thinking that Earthlings might not be able to answer with their limited primitive communications equipment.

Roberta still could not wrap her mind around the fact that the handsome dark-haired young man who had rescued her from the Borg was her future son, and she knew that he was freaked out about it too. However, she also knew that he was quickly getting used to his new status as an MIB agent. They both felt privileged to know that humanity was definitely not alone in the universe, but also knew they had to keep this fact to themselves. Mr. Cochran spoke to Mr. Seven as he exited the transporter and after looking around for a bit.

"Hello, sir." Cochran said, shaking hands with Supervisor 194. "UESPA told me that you were sending one of your agents, but did not tell me that you were sending this charming young lady." He glanced at Roberta, who smiled and blushed.

"She's one of our newest agents, and I felt it was time for her to spread her little wings and fly. This was one of her first solo assignments. Welcome back, Miss Lincoln."

"Thank you, sir." She felt the weight of her future son's stare and blushed again.


	3. A Mystic Crystal Revelation

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Three

"So, Roberta" Seven addressed his young female agent softly. "What did you think of the inhabitants of the planet Meta?"

Miss Lincoln was seated at the ebony office desk, examining something she had taken out of her overnight case. Roberta didn't answer at first, turning the object around in her hand. It had been given to her as a souvenir by the planet's head official, a man by the name of Zartan. It was a large stone, resembling a rose quartz, but unlike any stone she had ever seen, including her flame gems. She had been told it was a paper weight. Even though it sparkled in the overhead light and was very beautiful, she had been told that it was a common stone of little commercial value. Her future son was seated across from her in the black leather desk chair, also gazing at the object with interest.

"They seemed nice enough, sir. However…" She had an uncomfortable look on her face. "They were gawking at me like I was a zoo exhibit."

Cochran, who was standing next to Seven and the book case that concealed the interactive computer, smiled.

"It was a natural reaction, Miss Lincoln. You were the first human female they ever saw." He studied her astonished expression as she raised her head to look at him. Her complexion had suddenly turned ruddy. "My dear, I believe you have a sun burn."

She frowned.

"How is that possible? I was indoors most of the time I was there."

"Maybe it isn't a sun burn." Seven said thoughtfully, gazing at the baseball sized stone suspiciously, which was now placed on the top of the desk, next to the blinking green sensor cube. He put his hands on his hips in concern. "Computer on."

In response, the book case turned and the Beta Five computer came into view. Cochran and Nick both looked a little startled at first, but then looked on with interest as Seven ordered it to scan the object.

"_Working…Object is an unrefined di-lithium crystal. Radiation protocols should be utilized. Object is radioactive. Object is potentially hazardous to human life."_

"Miss Lincoln, put it back in your case, quickly, before it affects the rest of us!" He turned to Mr. Cochran. He nodded at Roberta, who quickly complied. "Mr. Cochran, did you know about this? How dare you put one of my agents in danger?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Seven. I didn't know that Zartan would be this sneaky. I had never seen a di-lithium crystal before, but had heard of them. The Vulcans use them to channel the power of their warp engines, which are far more advanced than the one I developed. They have been reluctant to give me the technology." He paused and smiled a little. "The Vulcans did not think we were ready to incorporate these crystals into our warp engines. The Metans had other ideas, and being slightly empathic, sensed my disappointment. In their raw form, they are slightly radioactive, but the inhabitants of Alpha Centauri had developed a resistance to the radiation over time. They didn't know that we humans were susceptible."

"I see. How did you get your warp engines to work without di-lithium crystals?"

"My warp engines are nuclear powered. The Vulcans employ far more sophisticated methods of propulsion, which they haven't fully explained to me yet. There is a warped part of space nearby that is like a wormhole that leads almost directly to Saturn. I used that wormhole on my first test flight."

"What's a wormhole?" Roberta asked curiously. Nick smiled knowingly.

"It's like a shortcut in space, Mom. It's a corridor that connects to more distant parts of the galaxy. Instead of taking years to get to the nearest star system, Mr. Cochran's ship only took a few days to reach it."

"Incredible!" She blushed at her future son for calling her mom and turned to look at Cochran. "Mr. Seven told me that in a year's time, it would take the astronauts a few days just to reach the moon. Sir, I would like to give you the crystal. It's of no use to me. Once you have it in your possession, the Vulcans might be persuaded to help you incorporate it into your engines."

"The computer said that it was unrefined." Nick stated thoughtfully. "They must know of a method to make it less dangerous."

"Indeed they do, Mr. Ginsburg." Cochran said.

"Speaking of dangerous things, I just had a horrible thought." Miss Lincoln said softly. "What if the Borg tries to get you and Gary here in this century?"

"That is very unlikely, Miss Lincoln." Seven answered. "The Earth in this time period is considered quite primitive by most of the neighboring star systems. A couple of races became more interested in us when we first landed on the moon, but have mostly kept their distance. The Borg wouldn't be interested in us, even if they should go back in time to this century."

"They wouldn't be interested in humanity in general, but they are obviously after you and the technology you use. I was in direct mental contact with those things. They are single-minded and relentless when it comes to assimilating technology and alien races. They know your address here. I fear that both you and Mr. Cochran are in grave danger of being assimilated into their collective."

"You also said they would stop at nothing to capture you, sir." Nick added with a serious expression on his young face. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to go somewhere else with Mr. Cochran until the danger has passed."

"Poppycock. I assure you we are in no danger from the Borg in this century. You know what they look like. It would be impossible for them to disguise themselves as human beings."

"Sir, their technology is far superior to ours. Believe me when I tell you, they have the ability to disguise themselves if they have to. I wouldn't put it past them. By the way, do you really have some kind of secret planet? The Borg questioned me about it."

"Yes, we do, Miss Lincoln. It's a thousand light years from here and is cloaked. The Borg have not been able to penetrate the cloak or the planet's defenses. The Grays have the same type of warp technology as the Vulcans and have been visiting twentieth century Earth." He paused in thought for a moment, noticing that Miss Lincoln's necklace endowed with Q powers had suddenly appeared around her neck. "Perhaps we can bring Mr. Cochran to that planet for the time being, for I am starting to believe you that the Borg are determined to get me and Mr. Cochran. You should stay here, my dear. I don't think they would want to assimilate you again, and you also don't have any knowledge of the secret planet or its whereabouts. I want to keep it that way. The less you know about the secret base the better."

Cochran smiled.

"Do you mean to tell me that all those stories about little gray men abducting human beings and doing weird experiments on us were true?"

"Yes, indeed they were, Mr. Cochran. They have been trying to find a way to save their species from extinction and were probing human beings to find out if we were genetically compatible. They meant us no harm, and, as an apology, offered us the opportunity to explore the galaxy and to keep the human race from making the same mistakes they made."

Unknown to Mr. Seven, Miss Lincoln had heard the name of the secret planet in her mind, thanks to her Spican flame gems. She thought Aldea was a lovely name.


	4. A Nightmare on 68th Street

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Four

Roberta and her future son watched as Mr. Seven opened the transporter vault door, her overnight case in his hand. Supervisor 194 had placed the di-lithium crystal in a more appropriate container and had handed it over to Cochran. Gary placed the little blue case in an interior alcove on the left side wall of the transporter vault with a lighted sign above it that read "decontaminate" and pressed a control button on the door. He backed up and admonished them to do the same as they all heard a low hum. A blue ray of light washed over the opened case. In a few minutes, Seven handed it back to Roberta, announcing that it was now radiation free.

Nick decided that it was best if he returned to the nineteen nineties and Seven concurred, both he and Roberta still concerned about a possible Borg invasion. As Nick was getting ready to leave, Isis abruptly materialized, her undisclosed mission apparently accomplished.

She was presently in human form, and smiled with acknowledgment at Roberta. After a few minutes of reading her thoughts, she then was concerned that Miss Lincoln had found out the name of their secret base, and told Mr. Seven immediately. Any knowledge of the secret planet could be very dangerous, considering that, in the twenty-fourth century, Aldea was hiding in plain sight, having lost its cloaking abilities. She also knew that there were two species inhabiting the planet: humans who were once a part of Seven's MIB organization, but had decided to start their own colony, and the species known as the Grays. Isis knew that Seven and the Grays were considering alternate sites for the secret base of operations, and that they had two other remote planets in mind: Thasus and Cestus Three. They, too, were uncloaked, but since both were arid and sparsely populated, the Borg would not consider them worthy of their interest. Thasus would be a better choice than Cestus Three, for the latter planet was occupied by the Gorns. This lizard-like species did not take too kindly to strangers, and might consider Seven's organization to be an invasion force.

"Supervisor 194, I believe it is time to activate the SME." Isis said smoothly, looking into the face of her young friend. Both Roberta and Zefram frowned in wonder, not knowing what Isis was referring to. Seven, however, nodded. He noticed Roberta's and Cochran's puzzled expressions and decided to explain.

"SME stands for Selective Memory Eradicator. It is a device similar to something in the twenty-third century called a neural neutralizer. If it is used responsibly, the device is an effective tool for blotting out memories that are of no use or dangerous to an agent."

"That sounds a little scary to me." Roberta said with a worried expression. "Besides, what's so bad about knowing the name of your secret base?"

"If the Borg find out the name of the planet, the two species there could be assimilated or destroyed. We are trying not to let that happen, which is why we are considering new locations. In the twenty fourth century, the planet is hiding in plain sight, having lost its cloaking abilities through centuries of intense radiation from its sun." He put his hand gently under her chin. "Don't worry, my dear. The device is harmless. Mr. Cochran and I must leave soon. Please come with me."

"But sir…I…I'm frightened for both you and me, not to mention humanity. What if the Borg should invade your apartment?"

"You have Isis and your Q necklace to protect you. Remember what happened to the Borg queen when she tried to remove it from your neck?"

Roberta nodded. "As I recall, she was jolted with an electrical charge. I think it affected me too, for I blacked out soon after."

"Yes. It disabled her long enough for Nick and Saavik to rescue you from their ship. Let's go. There isn't much time."

Roberta and Cochran followed him to the computer. As they both watched, Supervisor 194 pressed a few keys on the computer's keyboard. A few seconds later, the panel containing the computer slid further to one side, revealing another door that she had not seen before. Seven touched a small panel on its right side and the door slid open. He beckoned them to enter the small hidden room. Roberta went in first, followed by Mr. Cochran.

To Cochran and Roberta, the SME looked remarkably like a dentist's chair with a hair dryer bonnet attached to it. There was a multi-colored control panel behind it, and Seven told her to sit on the yellow padded chair while he manipulated some buttons. There was a low warm hum as the SME activated. He positioned the bonnet over her head and suggested that she close her eyes. Still a little frightened, but having also learned to trust him, the girl complied. Soon, she began to feel less uneasy, hearing her employer's voice telling her that everything was going to be all right. She swiftly drifted off into a deep comfortable sleep.

The next thing Roberta became aware of was the fact that she was no longer in the SME but on a warm metal table. There was no sign of Mr. Cochran. Alarmed, she tried to sit up but soon discovered that she was strapped down. She tried to survey her surroundings. She sensed a lighted electrical apparatus of some kind above her head and a strange electrical hum. She heard someone or something approach her. At first, she couldn't see what it was, but guessed that whoever or whatever it was had evil intentions. When she saw what was approaching her, she screamed in sheer terror, soon coming to the realization that her worst fears had come true. It was a Borg drone, and he looked like Mr. Seven.

"Calm yourself, Miss Lincoln." The drone said. "I have come to rescue you."

Tears streamed down her face, and she shuddered, not ready to believe that the drone had honorable intentions until he undid her restraints. Cautiously, she opened her eyes and stared at him in horror. "The Borg invaded the apartment and took you and Mr. Cochran. I disguised myself as one of them, with help from the Q named Quinn."

She couldn't bear to look at him any longer, but was now convinced that he was who he said he was.

"What about Isis? Is she all right?"

"She is fine, as far as I know. She morphed into a cat and they thought she was not sentient and left her behind." With that, he helped her to her feet. Her legs felt like rubber and she stared at her surroundings. She soon realized that she was still wearing her necklace endowed with Q powers, and that also gave her some confidence that things were not as grim as they appeared to be.


	5. Nightmare on 68th Street, part 2

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Five

Roberta was making an effort to keep her eyes off of Seven, still repulsed and frightened by his very convincing disguise, but hanging on to his arm, too terrified to let go. They both noticed that there was a strange lack of adult Borg in their vicinity. Soon they found out why. Most of the Borg they encountered littered the corridors dead, victims of some sort of disease or virus. Only a few remained, and they were children; the eldest in his late teens. Roberta could sense the presence of a very young Borg girl, who was trying to stay out of sight, but was observing them curiously. The eldest Borg appeared to be injecting a human female captive with something as the two agents cautiously approached. Roberta gasped as she recognized the poor female captive, both with horror as to what was happening to her and with recognition. At first she thought she was imagining things, but when she got a good look at the victim, she realized that it was her double from the starship Voyager.

"What in the…!" Seven started to say in astonishment and perplexity.

"Gary! That's-!"

"I recognize her, Miss Lincoln…but how can she be here?" He asked rhetorically.

The young Borg had gone off to tend to something else, leaving poor Mrs. Chakotay in an alcove. She seemed to recognize them immediately, and tears ran down her cheeks as they approached. Her face was ashen and drawn, and it was obvious that she was dying of a botched assimilation attempt. However, they soon discovered that she wasn't crying for herself. With help from her Spican flame gems, Miss Lincoln was horrified to discover that the Borg had also abducted Mrs. Chakotay's newborn daughter, who they found out was named Taya. Before dying, Mrs. Chakotay asked them to rescue her baby from a life of servitude to the Borg. Roberta buried her face in Seven's chest, and wept with sympathy and horror as Mrs. Chakotay breathed her last.

"Come, Miss Lincoln." Seven said gently after a few minutes. "We have to go find Cochran. There is nothing we can do for your counterpart."

Roberta finally raised her head to look at his face, wondering how he could be so stalwart and seemingly without feeling. Inside, however, she sensed three strong emotions: astonishment, worry and grief. He was also concerned that his appearance was still frightening her.

"What about her baby? Are we just going to leave her here?"

"We must. She is now a Borg."

"But she's just a baby! We have to rescue her!"

"I fear that there isn't much time to mount a rescue for both of them, Roberta. We have to prioritize. Mr. Cochran has to be rescued, or our people in the future will never develop warp drive."

"We can separate! I will find little Taya and you can rescue Cochran."

"No!" Seven said a little too forcefully, grabbing her shoulders for emphasis. "That's too risky! You could be assimilated or killed as well. Stay with me. That's an order."

"But—"

"No buts, Miss Lincoln. Neither one of us knows where either of them is. Borg ships are huge mazes."

"Then how are we going to find Cochran?"

Seven reached into his shirt pocket which was adjacent to a contrived Borg body shield and took out his servo. Apparently, the Borg did not recognize the pen-like device as a weapon. If they had, it would have probably been confiscated or destroyed.

"This has a built-in sensor and will help in locating him if he is still human. I just set it for human life signs. These kids on this ship might not have the ability to make their captives fully Borg, and judging from what they did to poor Mrs. Chakotay, there is little time to waste. Let's go."

They started down the corridor, both of them looking around warily for any further signs of any more Borg. There was none that they could detect, and Roberta could no longer feel the eyes of the young girl Borg who had been tracking them. However, neither let their guard down as they went down several corridors and twists and turns. Seven's servo was finally picking up human life signs and at last they found Cochran.

He appeared to be unconscious, also strapped to a table as Roberta had been. However, he was uninjured, as far as they could see. As they approached, now fixing their attention on Zefram, another Borg suddenly appeared, blocking their path.

He looked younger than the one who had killed Mrs. Chakotay. Before they could react, he grabbed Seven with superhumanoid strength and extended Borg assimilation tendrils, injecting Seven with something and placing him on another table next to Cochran. As Miss Lincoln watched helplessly with new horror, the Borg ignored her and started to work on Gary. Soon, the young alien left him there, obviously thinking that Roberta was no threat to them or their insidious plans. As the young Borg left to tend to something else, Miss Lincoln bravely approached Seven and picked up the dropped servo, set it to stun, and waited for the Borg boy to return. Seven, who was still conscious, grabbed her wrist and she yelped in fright and tried to pull away.

"Roberta…" He was making an effort to keep his eyes focused on her and held her wrist firmly, at the same time fighting the powerful drugs that were just injected into his system. "Kill me."

"What? No!"

"You…must! I can feel myself becoming part of this…collective. If I become a Borg, I am afraid you will be next and…if you kill me now, the Borg will not find out about the secret planet!"

"Secret planet? What do you mean?"

"No time to explain! Kill me!" His voice was more insistent. "If you don't want humanity to be slaves to these creatures, kill me now!"

"I…I can't! It's against everything I believe in! Please don't make me do that!" She said, shocked, tears streaming down her face.

"Believe me honey; death is preferable to a life of servitude to these horrid creatures! Don't argue! Do it!"

Seeing that she was still unwilling to kill him and what to her must have been a great deal of effort, he reached up and grabbed the servo from her trembling hand, and quickly set it to kill. She swiftly snatched it back from him, not knowing what he had done, but taking a good guess. As she tried to set it back to stun, the younger Borg boy returned from behind her, grabbed her, and she felt injection tendrils at the back of her neck. Screaming, she flinched, and in her struggle to escape the grasp of the Borg, involuntarily squeezed the trigger of the servo as the injected nanites began to work on her, turning her into a Borg. She closed her eyes, resigned to her fate, weeping at the apparent loss of her friend and employer, her humanity ebbing away, and at the sight of poor little Taya Chakotay in a nearby maturation chamber.


	6. Pavel Chekov To The Rescue

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Six

Pavel Chekov had just come back from a rather unpleasant dinner engagement with Chancellor Gorkon of the Klingon Empire. His opinion of the Klingons had not changed. He thought they were all a bunch of barbarous pigs. It had been a long evening, and he was tired, but he also sensed that something was very wrong on twentieth century Earth in Seven's apartment. Ever since he had acquired telepathic ability from the people in the Babylon Five alternate universe, his senses had become heightened and he suddenly felt very uneasy. His hunch that something was wrong grew deeper as he entered his quarters on the Enterprise. Frowning and hoping that he was mistaken, he opened his dresser, took out a hand phaser, set it to stun and went into his walk-in closet. Closing the door securely behind him, he pressed a button disguised as a bolt. A panel slid open, revealing a toggle switch. He flipped it, and an overhead light came on. It was actually an MIB transporter mechanism disguised as a light fixture. He dematerialized in a shower of sparkles and soon found himself in the "vault" in Seven's apartment in the twentieth century. As soon as he was fully materialized, he heard blood curdling screams coming from a hidden room behind the computer.

Isis watched as Chekov materialized. Before she could explain what was going on, he raced into the room. Roberta had her eyes closed and she was the one who was screaming. He stared in astonishment for a moment, seeing tears of grief and fear on her face. Seven had his back to him, working some controls. Chekov immediately thought that he had gone mad and was torturing the poor young lady. She was strapped down, thrashing about, and Pavel could detect what she was seeing in his mind. Some hideous mechanical humanoids he had never seen before held her captive and were putting cybernetic devices on her head and in her body. Quickly, Pavel raised his weapon at Seven and fired. The supervisor fell backwards, collapsed on the floor unconscious and Pavel stepped over him, deactivated the machine, at the same time, regarding Seven warily. He wasn't sure what Seven was doing to Roberta and did not recognize the device Seven was using, but it did not look good. She went limp, her eyes snapped open and she fell into a catatonic state, her breathing shallow. Quickly, Chekov undid her straps and dragged her out of the room, Isis looking on in cat form, her tail twitching nervously. He placed Roberta on the brown leather couch next to the computer as the poor girl continued to stare into space, apparently in a deep state of shock.

"Miss Lincoln, are you all right?" He asked compassionately. He touched her and she flinched. She didn't seem to recognize him as tears streamed down her face.

"I…_killed him!_" She gasped, becoming a little more aware of her surroundings but not believing what she was seeing. She shuddered and started to cry again as he touched her shoulder. She was reacting like David Bowman when he landed in the alien apartment in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. She couldn't believe she was home in the twentieth century, and Pavel knew that she thought that she was still with those horrible aliens and that her new surroundings were just an illusion.

"Who did you kill, sweetie?" Pavel asked gently, hoping that she could understand his question.

"S…Seven!" She stared at him fearfully.

"No, honey. He is only stunned. He will be all right."

"W…what?" She asked, still quite dazed.

"Pavel…" A familiar male voice called out to him from behind. Seven had staggered into the room, grasping a corner of the book case to steady himself. He was still tingling from the effects of the phaser stun. Chekov whirled at him, his eyes narrowing.

"You stay away from her, you lunatic! You've done enough!" He aimed his phaser at the supervisor.

To Chekov's surprise, the supervisor smiled gently at him.

"You have forgotten your own experience with the SME, Pavel. The machine has other capabilities, as you know. I had decided, in addition to removing her memory of the name of our secret base, to give her the psyche test. It was overdue. As you know, every new agent has to go through with the psyche test as a part of their initiation."

Pavel kept the phaser steady.

"This is a hazing, not an initiation. My experience was with the Klingons, a known species. Why did you use an unknown species for your version of the Kobyashi Maru on a twentieth century innocent? Have you gone mad?"

"Perhaps. However, the species is not unknown to her. As you know, the psyche test utilizes a person's deepest darkest fears. It is not a hazing, Pavel. It is more like aversion therapy. I was trying to toughen her up."

"You have only succeeded in making her a basket case! Look at her!"

"Pavel, please lower your weapon and let me finish what I started. If I don't, she will remain in that catatonic state for the rest of her life."

Isis stepped forward and morphed into her humanoid form. Cochran had been safely transported to their secret planet and was not in any present danger of being assimilated by the Borg. As a cat, she did not have the power of speech and could only communicate telepathically.

"Please lower your phaser, agent 152. He's telling you the truth. He must finish what he started, or Roberta's brain will be permanently damaged."

Pavel lowered his weapon, but kept a wary eye on Seven as he quickly approached Miss Lincoln.

"Why did you include Mrs. Chakotay in your SME simulation?"

Seven glanced at him with a startled expression as he removed his servo from the pocket of his blazer and made an adjustment to its controls.

"I didn't. She just made an appearance. For some unknown reason, she must have somehow tapped into Miss Lincoln's subconscious. It is possible that that part of the simulation was real."

Pavel sank into an orange chair, this time the one in shock.

"She's dead?" He asked, unbelieving. "At the hands of those mechanical beings I saw in her mind?"

"Possibly, Pavel." Seven answered soberly, using the servo to finish the psyche test. Roberta was quiet now, asleep. "Our Roberta will be all right, though."

Chakotay stared at Captain Janeway with dismay and grief from his post on the bridge. He had begged Janeway to go with his young wife, who had volunteered to rescue their little baby Taya, who had been abducted and turned into a Borg. His wife was now dead, a victim of a botched Borg assimilation. Janeway had insisted that Chakotay stay on the ship, assigning a security guard to keep his wife safe. Unfortunatley, he was killed as well. Chakotay was starting to lose his mind with grief, believing that the captain and Seven of Nine had planned the whole thing; and that Janeway had stranded them in the Delta quadrant, knowing full well that the Borg were here. In his pocket was a hand phaser. He was planning on killing Katherine and Seven of Nine. He knew that doing them in would not bring his wife and child back, but he didn't care. In his mind, he felt that they must pay with their lives.

The Q named Quinn knew his thoughts, and had decided that in everyone's best interest, he should erase the memories of the Voyager crew of the alternate Roberta's presence, the security officer, and that of their newborn baby on the ship, and to help bring Chakotay back to sanity. He transformed little Taya into an alien child, knowing that soon the Voyager crew would rescue her and four other children from the abandoned Borg ship. He then teleported Chakotay's weapon back to the weapons locker. Soon, both Captain Janeway and Chakotay wondered what the first officer was doing on the bridge. It was the end of his duty shift. Puzzled and shaking his head, and chalking up the apparent memory lapse to fatigue, he excused himself and went to his quarters.


	7. Seven Gets Chewed Out

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 7

After several hours, Roberta awakened once more and found herself in her own bed in her brown stone apartment. Her throat was dry and she found that she couldn't speak from all the screaming she had done in what she now thought was a very vivid nightmare. However, this was no ordinary dream. She had experienced every nuance of a Borg assimilation and she still believed that she had involuntarily killed her boss. Shaken from her ordeal, she sat up and held her aching head for a moment, wiping new tears from her face. She was now wondering what she was going to do next, and if anyone called the police about her murdering her employer. She was still wearing her Q necklace, which had, unknown to her, protected her from any lasting detrimental effects from the device that Seven had used on her. She looked around her bedroom, still fearful that her surroundings might be some sort of alien illusion and that she was still in the clutches of the Borg. She swung her legs to the side of her bed and carefully tried to stand, only to find out that she could not. Soon, she realized that her shape shifter friend Isis, who was presently in cat form, was sitting atop a green leather wing backed chair in the left hand corner of her room, gazing at her with apparent concern.

"_Greetings, Roberta." _Isis said gently and telepathically. _"Mr. Seven asked me to check on you. You will be able to stand again in an hour or so. Saavik and I brought you home. You were never in any real danger from the Borg. It was a simulation. If you had actually been assimilated, you would not be yourself but a mindless drone." _She morphed into human form and smiled at her. "Don't try to speak, my dear. Congratulations on passing your psyche test. Mr. Seven admired your adhesion to the sixth Commandment of your god and you passed with…what is the expression...oh, yes…flying colors. Mr. Seven is sorry that he did not tell you that he administered it to you when he erased the name of our secret planet from your mind. Since you were wearing your necklace, he thought you knew he had decided to administer the test."

Roberta stared at her alien friend in astonishment. She was at first overjoyed that her employer was still alive, but then recalled some of the details of the intense and horrifying simulation.

"_Where is he now?" _Roberta asked telepathically, her face now showing signs of anger. "_I would like to give him a piece of my mind! He should have told me in advance what he was going to do."_

" I agree with you. He went to the secret planet to see if Mr. Cochran was all right. Because of the Borg knowing everything that your counterpart from the alternate reality knew there is a possibility that they found out the name of the secret base of operations from her before they killed her and relayed that information to the Borg queen."

"_It would serve the jackass right if he was assimilated! He would get a taste of his own medicine." _Roberta chided angrily in her mind.

"Please, try and forgive him, my dear. He did what he thought was best under current circumstances. Since your first experience with the Borg was still fresh in your mind, the SME automatically chose it for the Kobyashi Maru simulation."

"_The what?" _Roberta asked blankly.

"The SME has another function called a neural enhancer. It is similar to a device called a neural neutralizer once used on mental patients on a planet with a penal colony in the twenty-third century and to the Kobyashi Maru no-win scenario in Saavik's time to train new Starfleet recruits. Since she has already been through a no-win scenario, Mr. Seven does not think it is necessary to put her in our device."

"_Well, isn't that just swell? Will my future son go through this crap too?"_

"He probably will go through something similar. I have been through it myself, as have most new agents, excluding some Starfleet personnel like Saavik. There is an Earth expression which I think is appropriate at this time: What doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Seven's wish for you was that you would become stronger so you could do your new job without coming apart at the seams. Some of the races you will encounter in the future will probably be just as frightening as the Borg, and we all want you to be prepared for what awaits you as an intergalactic agent."

Roberta was calmer now, and understood why Seven had done what he did but was still quite disturbed about it. She was also still a bit angry with him.

Mr. Seven had informed Pavel Chekov that the Klingon chancellor had just been assassinated by two Enterprise crewmen and that the captain and Dr. McCoy would be blamed for it. Chekov had to return to his own time to help defend them and later rescue them from the Klingon penal colony, Rura Penthe. Before he left, he, too, was upset about what Mr. Seven had done to Miss Lincoln. As he stepped into the safe-like transporter, he glared at him angrily.

"I do hope that Miss Lincoln will be all right. What you did was deplorable." He looked back at her with compassion. Her face was drawn, her eyes red from crying, but she was now sleeping peacefully on the brown leather couch.

"I know, 152. She will be; I assure you."

"Your assurances don't mean jack to me at this moment, sir." He told him sternly.

"You must leave for your time as soon as possible, Pavel, before you are missed and someone becomes suspicious. What can I say that will assure you that I am sincere?"

"_Use your newfound telepathic ability, Pavel." _Isis suggested, perched on the back of the couch. _"He is telling you the truth. Have I ever lied to you?"_

"_No, Isis… I will believe him for your sake." _Chekov answered her telepathically with a sigh, still glaring at the supervisor. In all the years he had known Gary Seven, he had never before witnessed him doing anything so brutal to anyone. "I must leave now, as you say. But before I do, I am warning you: if you ever do anything like this to this little girl again, my phaser will not remain on the stun setting!"

"I understand, agent 152. I love her too. Good luck with what you have to do in the future. By the way…" Seven paused in thought as he set the coordinates to bring Chekov back to his own time. "I believe that the trouble you sensed was on your starship and that catching me giving Miss Lincoln her psyche test was just a coincidence."

"Maybe it was a little bit of both." His expression softened a little. "I guess I should apologize for stunning you. I realize that my interruption to what you were doing could have harmed Roberta."

"I have been stunned before, Pavel. Safe journey."

Chekov nodded curtly as he dematerialized in a blue haze.


	8. Sarpeidon

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Eight

It had been a rough couple of days on the Enterprise and it was late at night. After their adventure with Mr. Atoz and the Actavacron time portal, it had taken the human crew members involved a while to recover. McCoy was still being treated for frostbite and Spock was being silent about his experience with the emotion of love, concerning a beautiful young woman named Zarabeth, who had been exiled in the planet Sarpeidon's distant past, during an ancient ice age. They had narrowly escaped a supernova, which destroyed the planetary system. Remarkably, all of the planet's inhabitants had retreated into its past, with the aid of the aforementioned time portal. Captain Kirk was in his quarters, sipping warm milk laced with nutmeg and reading a novel on his tri screen. He couldn't sleep and the warm milk was Chapel's idea. She told him that the amino acids in the milk produced a calming effect that would help him get to sleep. He hoped it would work, even though he didn't care much for the concoction. He much preferred McCoy's red pills, but Chapel insisted on a more natural remedy for his insomnia.

He didn't know the particulars about what had transpired with Spock, but he knew his first officer was a bit embarrassed about something, despite the fact that he was now in true Vulcan mode. McCoy had relayed a little about what had transpired, but, respecting Spock's privacy, did not reveal too much about how Spock had reverted to his savage ancestry, made love to the girl, and had eaten animal flesh and enjoyed it. Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Kirk, having gotten used to the decreased light of his quarters, gasped and covered his eyes, blindly slapping at the intruder alert alarm. He couldn't reach it.

"Relax, Kirk." ordered a very familiar voice calmly. "I'm here on official business. There is no need to call security."

After Kirk's eyes adjusted to the sudden glare, he stared at the being in astonishment. It was Trelane. Quickly, he reached for his utility belt for his phaser in an effort to defend himself, which he had tossed onto his bed after their most recent excursion. Trelane waved a hand and he froze like a statue.

"There is no need to panic, Captain. I won't hurt you. I have come here to ask for your help."

"My…_help?_" He continued to stare at the familiar looking being in dismay as he released him from whatever was holding him. He staggered forward, and caught the edge of his chair to steady himself. "What are you doing here, Trelane? Did you run away from home?"

"No, Captain. I am not that young whippersnapper, even though I have taken his form. I knew that your people in this century were not familiar with our race, so I decided to appear as Trelane, since you have already made his acquaintance."

"I see." Kirk gazed at him curiously as he morphed into the form of a middle-aged human male. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Quinn. Trelane and I are both Qs. I have come to tell you that your friend Mr. Cochran is in serious danger of being assimilated by a race of cybernetic beings called the Borg. Supervisor 194, whom you knew as Mr. Seven, had dropped off Mr. Cochran on this MIB base you call Sarpeidon a couple of centuries before your most recent adventure. Supervisor 193, whom you knew as Mr. Atoz, transported Mr. Cochran to Sarpeidon's twenty-first century. We need your help to find him and keep him safe on your ship until the Borg threat is over."

"But…we left Mr. Cochran on that planetoid with Miss Hedford and the Companion. How could he be in trouble with those aliens you mentioned?"

"Oh, you humans and your linear time!" the being said with apparent frustration. "I said that Mr. Cochran was transported here a couple of centuries ago. Apparently, Mr. Seven thought that the Borg wouldn't think to look for the two of them here; being that the creatures are busy going into Earth's past to try and enslave humanity. Also, I know for a fact that the Borg are far more interested in Mr. Seven than they are in Mr. Cochran. Either way, though, both of them are in great danger."

Kirk furrowed his eyebrows, giving what he just learned some thought.

"How could Sarpeidon be a secret base for Seven?"

"Didn't you notice that Mr. Atoz's device looked like Mr. Seven's computer?"

"Not really, but now that you mention it, I guess it did bear a close resemblance. How can I find Mr. Cochran now that the planet has been destroyed?" Kirk asked, still a bit mystified at the Q's sudden appearance.

"Leave that up to me. I will transport you to that century. However, Kirk…I must warn you; don't get involved with that lovely young thing named Zarabeth. She will have enough trouble with Zor-Con the Tyrant and Cochran, who has also taken a shine to her. It's because of him that she was exiled into the planet's ice age. She made the mistake of choosing Cochran over Zor-Con, thus sealing her fate."

As Pavel Chekov vanished in the blue transporter mist, Gary Seven grew more and more regretful about what he had done to Miss Lincoln. He thought that since she had acted with uncommon and amusing bravery with the Borg queen that she would be able to handle the simulation. He could see now that he had gone too far. Gently, he lifted her by the arm and put her over his shoulder, taking her back into the secret room to finish what he had started. Using his servo while she was on the couch was simply a stop gap measure; enough to keep her in stasus until Pavel left. He knew the Russian was understandably very upset with him, and did not wish to anger him further. As he settled the poor traumatized girl back into the SME, he touched her drawn tear-streaked face and whispered an apology into her ear, hoping that she could hear it. He tried to be as gentle as possible as he implanted another dream into her subconscious, hoping she would remember it. He then had Isis and Saavik take her home, informing the latter that she would be soon embarking on her second assignment as an agent.

Seven had decided that it was best that he and Cochran should separate while he and the man who invented warp drive for Earth were transported to Aldea. Cochran was then transported to Sarpeidon while Seven remained for a time on Aldea. After a while, he decided to go and check on the man from the twenty-first century while Isis and Saavik were tending to Roberta.

Supervisor 193 code-named Mr. Atoz decided that because of the Borg threat that he should use the Actavacron and transport Mr. Cochran into Sarpeidon's twenty-first century, where he knew he would be safe from the Borg. He didn't stop to consider the adventure Mr. Cochran would have with Zor-Con the Tyrant. He was not born yet when poor Zarabeth was exiled in the planet's ice age. Zor-Con had killed Supervisor 192 and had taken the time machine for his personal use. Much later, Seven's organization regained control after he was deposed.

The scene in Roberta's mind was in sharp contrast to her harrowing visions of the Borg. Now it appeared that she was in some kind of classroom. A man who looked like Mr. Seven was writing something on a blackboard. As he told her about how their organization had 193 other planetary bases scattered throughout the galaxy, he was writing the name of the planet where he had taken Mr. Cochran and was apologizing to her about something.

Isis looked at her young friend with concern and saw the puzzled expression on her face. She sensed that Roberta was remembering the second educational dream that Mr. Seven had implanted in her subconscious, in an effort to inform her where he had gone in case something bad happened.

"You are remembering the second dream." Isis announced gently with a smile.

"Yes…" Roberta paused for a moment as new tears formed in her eyes. Her voice had returned an hour ago but she answered in a whisper because her throat still hurt. "I didn't know that he loved me. I think it would be good to forgive him." She paused again, and this time a look of fear and horror washed over her face as her necklace glowed. "Oh, no! The Borg have him!"


	9. Neck Pinch

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Nine

Pavel Chekov watched in amazement as the being he had come to know as Quinn whisked his secret transporter mechanism off the Enterprise-A to his residence on Earth. He had just officially retired from Starfleet after helping to clear Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy of the charge that they had assassinated the chancellor of the Klingon Empire. Pavel sensed that the being who called himself a Q was feeling guilty and worried about something and that the guilt had something to do with Miss Lincoln, but he did not want to pry. Being that he barely knew Quinn, he felt he should be cautious around this very powerful entity, even though he sensed that the Q was deeply in love with the young lady and wished humanity no harm. Chekov was still quite concerned about poor Roberta, whom he knew had just gone through a horrible ordeal via Seven's Selective Memory Eradicator/Neural Neutralizer. After the Q being transported him to his home in the city of Moscow and his secret transporter was re-installed, Pavel decided to check on her.

"Are you certain, Roberta?" Isis asked with concern, still in human form, watching as the girl started to weep once more as she helped her stand up.

"Positive, Isis. Oh, me and my awful thought! I am to blame!"

"You said what you did in anger, dear. Karma was not at work here. You had every right to say what you did. What may have happened is not your fault. Please, don't jump to the conclusion that this happened because of your angry thought. Besides, it was only a matter of time until the Borg captured him. They have been after him for years."

Roberta paused in thought, a puzzled and shocked expression forming on her face as Isis handed her a tissue. Isis watched as Chekov materialized behind Roberta and greeted them warmly. He was glad to see that the young lady was recovering from her harrowing experience.

"I…I'm starting to remember some more of the second dream about Mr. Seven in the classroom…Isis, did the Q really-?"

As she began the question, Chekov suddenly involuntarily put out a hand and pressed a certain nerve on her neck. With an equally startled expression, Isis watched as the girl gasped and lost consciousness. They both watched in dismay as poor Roberta collapsed into Pavel's arms, apparently a victim of a Vulcan neck pinch.

"Agent 152, why did you do that?"

"I didn't. Something took a hold of my hand and forced me to do it. Please, help me get the poor dear back to bed."

Isis complied.

"I will bet a thousand credits that her Q friend was the something. She was just about to ask me if the Q introduced the Borg to humanity. Of course, I knew the answer to that question was 'yes'."

Pavel frowned in puzzlement.

"Who are the Borg?"

"They are the creatures who inhabited her SME nightmare, 152. Her friend Quinn was afraid that she would find out that his kind was responsible for siccing the Borg on humanity in the twenty-fourth century. I am committing a breach in the temporal prime directive by telling you this, but you had to know." Isis paused and gazed up at the ceiling. "There was no reason for this, Q! We all know your people introduced the Borg to humankind. It was only a matter of time until Miss Lincoln would have found out."

Quinn appeared in a flash of light at the foot of Roberta's bed.

"I didn't want her to hate me. Even if we are omnipotent, we are fallible like any other species in the galaxy. Mr. Seven did not want her to find out that my kind was responsible either. He didn't want our friendship to end. The Q who did it should have foreseen this."

"Will she be all right?" Isis asked worriedly.

"Yes." Pavel answered instead. "Vulcan neck pinches only last about an hour." He then noticed her tear-streaked face and reddened eyes. "What was she crying about?"

"She believes that Mr. Seven has been assimilated by the Borg."

"She's right." The Q named Quinn said gravely. "He has been." Noticing their astonished and concerned expressions, he continued, addressing Isis. "I have to get back to Sarpeidon and check on Kirk. I don't want him to get involved with that little cave girl." Quinn glanced at poor Roberta with a worried expression. "You know what a ladies man he is."

"What about Cochran? Where is he?"

"He's hiding in Sarpeidan's past. I have to put a cloak around the Enterprise so the Borg doesn't detect it. When Kirk finds Cochran, he will be transporting him onto the ship."

Pavel's brow furrowed as he considered this.

"How come I don't remember this happening after the captain's adventure on that doomed planet?"

"Because, dear Pavel, I erased everyone's memories of Cochran's stay aboard your vessel."

"I see. We have to rescue Mr. Seven. We can't let these rotten Borgs have him. There is a great danger that they will find out everything about our secret bases scattered throughout the galaxy and try to assimilate them as well."

"I have already helped with that." The Q said smugly. "I made Seven a complete imbecile so he would be no use to them as a Borg. They will soon let him go when they find out how completely mindless he is."

Chekov and Isis grinned.

"You will change him back…right? I don't want a dork for a boss."

Quinn returned the smile and nodded. He then informed Pavel that he couldn't be the one to go and rescue Seven, being that he might mess up the time line. He decided to stay with Miss Lincoln until she recovered. Isis then volunteered to go instead, and the Q gave her Roberta's necklace to keep her safe, being that the young lady would not be needing it for a while. Quinn left with Isis in a flash of light, leaving Chekov alone with poor Roberta.

Captain James T. Kirk wondered how Quinn was going to keep his crew from finding out that their captain was no longer aboard the ship, but in Sarpeidon's twenty first century. The being who called himself Quinn told him not to worry and that he would make a double of him, and assured him that not even Spock would be able to tell the difference. Kirk was looking forward to meeting the young woman whom Spock had fallen for, but at the same time decided, for once, to heed the Q's warning not to get involved with her himself. He often wondered what kind of a woman really attracted his first officer. He often assumed that Spock did not much care for physical attractiveness, but much preferred the brainy type. He then recalled Spock's pre-arranged wife T'Pring. She was quite a knockout, but Spock did not seem very interested in her after he thought he killed him. However, judging from McCoy's intriguing description of Zarabeth, he felt that he would soon find out what kind of a woman really attracted a Vulcan. Kirk's mission, however, was primarily to find Mr. Cochran and keep him safe from the mechanical beings the creature named Quinn mentioned.


	10. Jackson Roykirk's Been a Bad Boy

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 10

Saavik was assigned by the UESPA, who did not give Mr. Seven any details for security reasons, to correct an historical error made by the supervisor. She had been informed that it was a human named Jackson Roykirk who had launched the Friendship One probe in the early two thousands along with his more famous Nomad probe, not Zefram Cochran. Roykirk had done it at around the same time that he had launched Nomad. Both probes had been damaged and their programs altered when they happened upon an unstable wormhole near the Andromeda galaxy, ending up at the edge of Borg space near the planet Sarpeidon. She had to track down Roykirk and stop him from launching Friendship One if she could, a probe that was designed to appease any hostile aliens it may encounter so that Nomad would be able to collect and analyze soil samples from planets in Earth's neighboring star systems to see if the planets could support life and as a prelude to colonization. The probe had a dangerous nuclear power source, and she had found out from Isis that it was destined to nearly wipe out an alien civilization in the Delta quadrant, as well as resulting in the needless death of a Voyager crewman. As it turned out, Roykirk was indirectly responsible for the development of the Borg, along with indirectly being linked to the development of the Doomsday Machine that the Enterprise crew would encounter during their famous five year mission. The El-Aurians who developed the machine did it in the hopes of defeating the Borg, who, by the twenty-third century, had become a menace in the Delta quadrant. The Borg, after altering the Doomsday Machine's trajectory to bring it to the Alpha quadrant, then encountered Nomad and thus enhanced their obsession with technological perfection. Since Saavik had no idea where to look for Roykirk, she decided to beam herself to Sarpeidon to ask Mr. Seven where he might be, not realizing that the Borg were hot on his trail. They both ended up getting assimilated; however, Saavik was somehow able to keep her personality, and became keenly aware that Mr. Seven had apparently suffered brain damage during the assimilation process. There wasn't much of a chance that the Borg would find out that Cochran had been transported into the planet's past, for Saavik did not exactly know where he was either. The Borg soon realized that they would not be able to obtain any information from him whatsoever, and since Saavik was a century behind them with her technological knowledge, she was of little use to them as well. They soon dumped them on the nearest habitable planet. The last thing Saavik thought before passing out from the Borg drugs she had been given was that random chance must have operated in their favor.

Chekov, of course, had heard of the Borg during his long association with Mr. Seven, but up until now had never seen one. He felt very sorry for poor Miss Lincoln and for Mr. Seven, who was probably now in the hands of the most fearsome alien species he had ever seen. He and Isis, who had just returned from checking on Kirk, thought it would be best to stay with Miss Lincoln until she recovered from her neck pinch and her experience with the SME. Soon, he became aware of the unmistakable sound of a motorcycle outside and quickly sensed that its rider was Roberta's new boyfriend Maury. Pavel could read in his thoughts that he was becoming concerned about her, having set a date to meet her at a nearby delicatessen. She hadn't shown up, so he decided to go to her apartment to see why. He had not yet met Chekov and did not know that Isis was more than a common garden variety house cat. Pavel knew how the majority of American people in this era felt about Russians, so he braced himself for possible hostility from Roberta's new suitor, quickly coming up with a plausible excuse as to why he, a stranger to Maury, was in her living room. He decided to tell Maury that he was there to look after her cat and Isis smiled, deciding to play along.

Seven stared blankly at the strange-looking unconscious bald woman nearby with the pointed ears. He could not speak or understand speech and his mind was a void, much like when Lieutenant Uhura's knowledge was wiped clean by Nomad or when Spock was reborn on the Genesis planet. However, he was aware of a hot pair of binary suns in the azure sky. They were surrounded by desert terrain and no other life forms could be seen. The woman stirred and their eyes met. She seemed to know who he was, but he could not understand what she was saying to him. She stood unsteadily, looking him over to make sure he was unhurt. She reached out a hand and gently touched his temple. He immediately felt a sense of peace and safety from the woman, and she gently spoke to him again, although he was still unable to comprehend her words.

Saavik knew she had to get Seven out of the heat. She scanned the horizon for some shelter, soon realizing that she had been equipped with some kind of Borg ocular infrared scanner similar to Seven of Nine's. There was a distinct energy reading coming from what appeared to be a cave entrance about a half a kilometer from their current position. Knowing that if they didn't soon find a source of food and water they would and could die, she coaxed the frightened and bewildered man to come with her. She still had a windbreaker jacket with her under her Borg paraphernalia. She extracted it with some difficulty and tore it in half with her Vulcan strength. She gave one piece to Seven, but of course he did not know what to do with it. Smiling ever so slightly in amusement, she placed it over his head, using a drawstring rope belt from the base of the jacket to secure it. She did the same with her half and using another mind meld and gentle coaxing, led him to the cave. She found it a little disconcerting that some of her Borg implants were still functioning. There was a distinct possibility that they were being watched. She feared that the Borg might change their minds and come back for them. She didn't voice those fears, not wanting to frighten her companion from the twentieth century even more than he was already. Not knowing where they were made things worse. For all she knew, this planet could be an abandoned Borg base. She made an effort to put that thought out of her frazzled mind, glancing at poor Mr. Seven, who was clinging to her left arm like a lost child.

It had been quite a hike to the cave, and Seven appeared to be exhausted. She gently set him down on a flat rock. A bit winded herself, she looked around, using the light source at the mouth of the cave. To her relief, she saw a natural water source nearby, scooped some up with her hands, and offered some to her male companion, after taking a sip herself to show him what he should do. He copied her movements and smiled at her with apparent gratitude.

There was a sudden flash of light and the Q named Quinn appeared.

"It's about time you two got here." He said with a smile, whipping up a flashlight with his powers. He handed it to Saavik. "The Borg won't be coming back. The coast is clear and they have left this space, none the wiser." With another wave of his hand, he brought them both back to normal. "Time to go home, Mr. Seven."


	11. Day Tripping

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 11

Supervisor 194, after recovering his mind and appearing with Saavik in his apartment headquarters with the Q's help thanked him for his assistance in foiling the Borg. He also expressed his gratitude to Saavik for her kindness and for saving his life during their time on the desert planet. They both looked like Borg drones, even though they had been severed from the collective. Their implants were no longer functioning, and at their behest, Quinn brought them back to their normal appearances. They also did not wish to frighten poor Roberta again. Isis had left Mr. Seven a message on his voice activated typewriter, informing him of her whereabouts and reminding him of their current mission. They would have to return to Sarpeidon's past and make sure that Kirk was successful in hiding Cochran aboard the Enterprise. In addition, Seven had received sealed orders to assist the Sarpeidonians in their procurement of an enormously powerful weapon from the distant future called the Tox Utat. It was a device capable of halting the nuclear reactions in a star. The people of Sarpeidon, in their twentieth century, planned to evacuate the entire population of their planet with the help of the Actavacron time portal and Mr. Atoz and then destroy their system so the Borg would not be able to assimilate them in the twenty third century. Saavik had told Seven that her original mission before being abducted by the Borg was to locate Jackson Roykirk and stop him from launching Friendship One. She had been assimilated in her attempt to locate Seven and ask him where to find Roykirk and she had no idea that the Borg were nearby. Seven, after quickly getting over his embarrassment at being wrong about who launched the Friendship One probe, told Saavik that she had been extremely fortunate that the Borg had let her go and she agreed. Despite being a century behind them with technological knowledge, she was quite intelligent. She had sensed, however, that the Borg were far more interested in Seven than they were in her, and they had actually made a half-assed attempt to assimilate her; also they had enslaved more than enough drones. Even though she was just one more, they also felt responsible for Gary's apparent brain damage. Although the Borg had mostly the mentality of machines, they had a sense that they were somehow being deceived. The Borg queen did not wish to destroy Seven for some inexplicable reason that she could not fathom. With that in mind, they observed the two for a couple of hours to see if they could detect any subterfuge from either one. Finding none, they departed, leaving them to their own devices. They also, for some reason, could not get a firm linkup with Saavik's mind. She found out later that the Q had prevented the Borg from totally assimilating her, had telepathically influenced the Borg queen so she would not destroy Seven and was responsible for letting Saavik keep her personality while she was aboard the Borg ship. The Q had also been responsible for keeping some of her implants functioning so that she could detect and follow the energy reading in the cave.

Pavel Chekov could not help but eavesdrop on Roberta's dreams as she lay still unconscious from his unexpected and unprovoked neck pinch. Spock had never taught him how to administer one, and he was shocked at the Q's behavior. He also had always wondered if people dreamed while under the influence of a Vulcan neck pinch, and now he had an answer. However, he and Isis, the latter in human form, who had been returned to Roberta's apartment by the Q, frowned in puzzlement as her "dreams" began to be a little too specific. Pavel knew that she had never met some the people in her dreams and he recognized some of them. He soon discovered that they weren't dreams at all, but telepathic visions, sent with the aid of a very futuristic machine that he had only seen once before on Earth's secret planet. Roberta was meeting Guinan, an El Aurian that he had met before. He had come to her aid at the time his former captain had disappeared and was presumed dead after encountering a space anomaly that resembled a cosmic string that had almost destroyed the ship he had been on. However, there was little time to speculate as to why Miss Lincoln was being contacted in such an unusual fashion, for her boyfriend was at the door.

"Well, Isis, here goes nothing. It's time to morph into a kitty cat."

Isis smiled and nodded, wishing him luck telepathically as she morphed. She watched him open the door as she settled into her cat form, seating herself comfortably on Roberta's couch.

Maury was a little startled at seeing this old guy in Roberta's apartment, mistaking him for the weirdo who went on stage at Woodstock.

"Hey, man, who are you and what are you doing here? Where's Roberta?"

"My name is Pavel Chekov, sir. I am cat sitting. Miss Lincoln is in her bedroom taking a nap."

Ginsburg noticed the black feline on Roberta's green fabric couch, but his eyes narrowed suspiciously. He had believed the propaganda concerning Russians, hearing from others that they were a shifty bunch. He also knew for a fact that Roberta's landlord didn't allow his tenants to have pets. He also felt that he had no reason to trust this crazy old geezer, who had obviously invaded his girlfriend's apartment. He also knew of a certain science fiction television show with a character with the same name as Roberta's unexpected house guest.

"Yeah, right, man. And I am the Groovy Guru. Who are you really? Have you hurt my girl?"

"No, I would never do that. I work with her. I assure you that I am a friend and that she is all right. The man you are mistaking me for is an evil kulak from another dimension named Bester. I assure you that I'm the real Pavel Chekov."

Maury stared at him for a moment in astonishment. Whoever this was, he had just read his mind.

"All right, bozo. Prove it."

The man who called himself Chekov smiled uneasily and glanced back at the cat.

"_Well,__Isis? __Should __I __tell __him __the __truth?__" _He asked her telepathically.

"_By __all __means,__152. __He __was __bound __to __find __out __the __truth about Roberta __anyway.__" _She answered reassuringly.

Pavel addressed Maury, still a little unsure if he would believe the truth, fantastic as it was.

"I am sure by now, Mr. Ginsburg, that Roberta told you that she did research for an encyclopedia for a living."

"Yes, she did. So?" Maury started in astonishment as this Chekov guy called him by name. He hadn't introduced himself.

"That is just a cover story, like Maxwell Smart and his greeting card business. Her real occupation is something a little more next level and very awesome." The Russian seemed to beam with pride for some reason.

"Awesome?"

"_Pavel,__you __are __in __the __wrong __decade __for __that __word. __Try __far __out.__" _Isis informed him.

"Oops. I mean far out. Miss Lincoln is an intergalactic secret agent and so am I. I am from the future and am here to keep her safe."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, man! That's just silly! You're crazy!" Maury said uncomfortably.

"You need further proof? Very well." He turned to the black cat, still sitting on Roberta's couch. "Isis, will you do the honors?"

"_With __pleasure,__Pavel.__" _Isis answered happily. She morphed into human form as Ginsburg gaped at her, astounded and then a little fearfully. He was beginning to think that perhaps both of Roberta's unexpected house guests were invading extraterrestrials. Quickly, he grabbed Pavel's holstered phaser and aimed it at him.

"All right, future geezer. What have you done to my girl? If you hurt her, I will pull the trigger of this ray gun!"

"Mr. Ginsburg, I assure you that she has not come to any harm." Pavel answered, raising his hands in surrender, noticing a moment later with relief that the safety on his phaser was still on.


	12. Secrets Revealed

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Twelve

Mr. Seven knew that he was putting himself in jeopardy by returning to Sarpeidon, but he felt he had no choice. The mission to find and procure the Tox Utat in order to help the planet's inhabitants escape the clutches of the Borg took precedence. Supervisor 193, code-named Mr. Atoz had told him where to look for the device just before Seven was captured by the Borg. Seven was quite amused by 193's very clever choice for a code name. It had taken him years to figure out how he came up with it. Atoz had escaped their clutches by sheer luck. The Borg took one of his replicas. The Q was kind enough to help Seven retrieve the memory of where the Tox Utat was hidden after he was rescued from the desert planet. The device had been buried deep within a cave on a planet called Risa in the twenty-first century. Seven also knew that, in the distant future, the planet would become a vacation spot for Starfleet officers. He knew as well that by the time Picard and Vash got there in the twenty-fourth century, there would be little or no evidence that it had been dug up and borrowed to help the people of Sarpeidon destroy their star. At first, when he had received the sealed orders to help the planet's inhabitants, he thought that this was like curing a disease by killing the patient, but then he began to consider the big picture. The planet's inhabitants would be forever safe from the Borg by retreating into the planet's past by the aid of the actavacron time portal. The device altered their physiological structures so that they would die if taken from the times they had chosen. He had considered letting Saavik accompany him, but then thought better of it. It would be hard enough for him to stay out of the sight of the Borg, and since she was relatively inexperienced and they already knew about her, she might be recaptured. Also, there was the matter of Kirk possibly recognizing her later on. She might also let on that she knew him, and it would quite probably disrupt the time line, causing a paradox. Even though the Q named Quinn told Chekov that he had erased the Enterprise crew's memories of Cochran being safely ensconced aboard the starship, he couldn't be sure that Saavik would be included in this memory erasure.

Seven was also concerned about Roberta, even though he knew that Isis and Pavel would look after her and keep her safe from the slim possibility of a Borg invasion of twentieth century Earth. He couldn't ask Isis to risk accompanying him to Sarpeidon either, for fear that the Borg would discover that she was sentient. He decided to enlist the aid of his new agent Scarlet O'Neil. Seven found it quite amusing that this alien woman had taken the name of a fictional crime fighter from a nineteen forties comic strip, brought to life by a lowly human named Russell Stamm. The fictional Scarlet could render herself invisible at will by touching a nerve on her left wrist. The alien Scarlet could render herself invisible as well, but didn't do it in the same way. Even though his new agent was also inexperienced, she was half Dowd and had abilities far beyond that of any other humanoid life form with the exception of the Q, and would be able to defend herself against the Borg.

It had been almost a year since Seven's first encounter with Captain Kirk. The supervisor also found it somewhat amusing that UESPA already knew how Earth had survived the nuclear threat of the twentieth century, but had allowed the captain to travel back in time to find out for himself how Earth managed to solve desperate problems in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Speaking of desperate problems, Maury was still pointing Pavel's phaser at him. He had forced the former navigator of the starship Enterprise into Roberta's bedroom, still not convinced that the elder man or the weird alien woman were harmless. Mr. Ginsburg was a lot stronger than Isis was, and she could not risk getting hurt or killed. She stayed in human form and looked at the hippy with a mixture of fear and pity. He ignored her and did not take his eyes off of Chekov as he tried to awaken his girlfriend, seeing the shocked expression still on her face as she lay in an apparent coma. When he could not rouse her, he glared at the Russian.

"I thought you said she was asleep! She's unconscious! What did you do to her? The truth, geezer!"

Chekov sighed, and then gasped at what Roberta was learning in her telepathic vision. She was discovering that she was half El-Aurian. He stared at the girl in the bed with astonishment and wonder.

"Extraordinary...Please lower the phaser, Mr. Ginsburg. I swear to you that I am not here to harm Roberta or anyone else, and neither is Isis. I'm afraid you might not be able to handle the truth. It would probably…what is the expression…oh, yes…blow your mind."

"I will blow your head off if you don't tell me what you did to my girl!"

"Please, Maury, don't get violent." Pavel responded evenly. His arms were getting tired. "Besides, the safety is on. Give me back my weapon before you hurt someone." Ginsburg did not comply, still thinking that his "ray gun" was a toy or a prop from a science fiction television show, so Pavel continued. "Very well…the truth, then. Roberta is suffering from a Vulcan neck pinch. She will awaken in a few minutes."

Maury eased up on the trigger of the weapon and grinned nervously and then in amusement at the elderly Russian's expression. He told Pavel to lower his hands and he complied with relief. Ginsburg was starting to believe what the Russian stranger was saying, realizing that nobody would make up such a story. He gave Pavel back his phaser and the Russian put it back in its holster, and returned his smile, breathing a sigh of relief.

"So, that kiddy sci fi show is all true?"

The man who called himself Pavel Chekov nodded in the affirmative.

"Mr. Roddenberry was an agent as well. We felt that he had revealed too much about the future, so the show you are referring to met an untimely end after only three seasons. People loved it so much, though, that it was revived in the late nineteen eighties. By then, we agents did not see any harm in letting people know that Earth has a positive future. Also, nobody took it seriously, and considered it just as a very entertaining TV show and somewhat true to the original. They, however, purposely screwed things up when they made more spinoffs and more than ten movies, so people would not take seriously what they were seeing as being Earth's real future. I swear to you, Mr. Ginsburg, that I am the real Mr. Chekov."

"I think I believe you now. I apologize." He looked back at Roberta, who was beginning to stir. "Why are you so old? Your TV character is only in his twenties."

"I was. I lived through those years and am retired now."

"Did Mr. Spock teach you how to do that neck pinch thing?"

Pavel shook his head.

"A very powerful being forced me to do it." He stared at Roberta in astonishment at what was being revealed to her in her telepathic vision.

Guinan watched as her friend and colleague Mrs. Lincoln manipulated the controls to the sophisticated alien device that could enter an individual's subconscious and project an image of the individual into a two-way imaging chamber. Earth's secret planet had been moved to the planet Thasus. Mrs. Lincoln felt she did a very good job of acting shocked when she learned that her daughter had been recruited by Mr. Seven. She had decided to finally reveal the truth of Roberta's true heritage at this time because she knew that her daughter's El-Aurian half's abilities would soon manifest themselves. There was only one noticable difference between El-Aurians and humans: All El-Aurians had a prominent birth mark somewhere on their bodies; Roberta's, thankfully, on her backside. Both she and Chekov knew that one historical figure from the late twentieth century was secretly an El-Aurian. He was a Russian diplomat named Mikhail Gorbachov. He had been very instrumental in ending Earth's cold war, and did such a good job for the organization that he was asked to solve conflicts on other planets.


	13. A Sort of Mental Journey

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 13

(* First off, I mean no offense to my Black readers in this chapter. I just want to be as historically accurate as possible. The terms "Black" or "African American" were not widely used in the nineteen sixties.)

The first thing that Roberta became aware of was that she was suspended in some sort of strange alcove. She found that she could not move and this startled her at first. She felt a little helpless, but willed herself to stay calm. She soon discovered that she wasn't as frightened as before, and that she was getting used to the unusual circumstances that she was being placed into and decided not to jump to conclusions. She noticed that she was at the end of a long wide corridor. She could see nothing but machinery on both sides and people of all sorts and some aliens she had never seen before were seated at apparent stations. They seemed to be ignoring her for the most part and were intent on whatever they were doing. Soon, a strange looking woman appeared in her line of vision. She was a Negro*, wearing a large oddly-shaped hat that looked like a manta ray. She smiled at her benignly and told her not to be afraid; that she was still in her brownstone apartment in the twentieth century, but she was being projected somehow to Earth's new secret planet. Roberta knew better than to ask the name of this one, not wanting to be subjected to the SME device again. The thought occurred to her that perhaps she had been placed into it again, but she saw no sight of Mr. Seven, Cochran or of the Borg, so she decided not to worry. Whoever these people were, they seemed to have no hostile intentions towards her. She then noticed a young man who looked up from his work. He seemed to stare at her for a few minutes and then smiled as their eyes met. The Negro lady called him Charlie and told him to stop staring. With a blush, he complied, although a bit reluctantly, telling the lady in the strange hat that Roberta looked like a younger version of someone named Janice. Roberta then saw her mother standing beside the strange dark skinned lady, and then, relaxing, came to the conclusion that this was but a dream.

Guinan watched as the image of Mrs. Lincoln's young daughter disappeared after they talked with her for an hour. They knew that she had just regained consciousness in her brownstone apartment, after being the recipient of a Vulcan neck pinch, compliments of the Q. The Q named Quinn had tried to smooth things over with Guinan, who was a member of the El-Aurian race. The El-Aurians were the first to experience the 'joys' of the Borg by the Q. To make up for that, Quinn had suggested that they take this opportunity to communicate with Miss Lincoln with the help of their advanced alien technology. Mrs. Lincoln also thought it would be a good time to tell her daughter the truth about her real heritage, now that she was a full-fledged agent and was old enough to understand and accept it. They also told Roberta that she would soon have the ability to teleport, but not to try it just yet. Mrs. Lincoln told her that she would teach her how when she reached her twenty-first birthday or she saw her again when she returned to Earth. However, she knew by the skeptical look on Roberta's face that she did not believe it, and still thought that what she had just experienced was only a dream.

There was one thing that Guinan never told Captain Picard. Even though she knew that Picard would accept her as she was, no matter what she really looked like, she felt rather self-conscious about her lack of hair. El-Aurian women gradually lost their hair by the time they turned thirty. It was the reason that she wore all those strange hats. The hair that was visible under the hats was composed of wigs. The hats kept the wigs from falling off. She knew that it was a silly thing to keep from the captain, but she felt that she should keep up appearances. She disliked standing out in a crowd, and did not wish to be mistaken for a member of the Deltan race, whose women were completely devoid of hair and were considered to be second only to Orion slave girls in their reputation for being seductresses. When she was on Earth in the nineteenth century and had first met Picard, she had decided to use glue to keep her wig from falling off. It worked for a time, but then she had developed a mild allergic reaction to the adhesive. She was relieved when Picard went back to his own time, after setting things right in that century.

Pavel and Maury watched with relief and concern as Roberta awoke. At first, she appeared to be a little fearful, regarding Pavel with some trepidation, thinking that he wasn't really himself. She stared at him with dismay and uncertainty for a few minutes. Pavel smiled gently and compassionately at her as Maury helped her sit up.

"Go ahead, Roberta. Say it."

"Say what?" Maury asked in puzzlement. Roberta, still worried that Pavel might be Bester, ignored Maury and complied: her voice barely above a whisper.

"_Kagda Luna v sed'mon dome."_

Chekov grinned and chuckled as he replied.

"_I Jupiter v pare s Marsom."_

Sighing with relief, Roberta rested her head on her pillow and looked at them both with a smile. She noticed her boyfriend's puzzled expression and decided to explain.

"It's Russian, Maury. Pavel taught me how to say the opening lyrics to "Aquarius"."

"It's our way of identifying one another in case one of us thinks the other is a shape shifting alien or something." Pavel added softly, not wanting to mention the name of his double from the Babylon Five alternate reality. He knew that Roberta wanted to forget him, and so did he. Maury grinned.

"Far out! That is totally cool! Roberta, baby, are you all right?"

"Yes…at least I think I am. Pavel…what did you do to me?"

Maury answered instead, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Hey, groovy chick, this cat just laid an honest-to-goodness Vulcan Neck Pinch on you!"

Roberta rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Maury, you watch too much TV. There's no such thing…" She looked back at Pavel with more uncertainty. He raised his eyebrows. "Is there?"

"I'm afraid so, Roberta." Pavel answered instead. "However" he added quickly "It wasn't my idea. Your Q friend made me do it."

Roberta sat up and thought about that for a moment or two. The thought of the Q manipulating her friend like a marionette disturbed her, and she was growing more and more fearful of the alien and his intentions, even though he had saved her life more than once. She appreciated that, but she loved Maury, and had no romantic interest in the Q. She realized the Q did, however, but she was fearful as to what he might do if she tried to spurn his advances. Another thought occurred to her and Pavel picked up on it. She was wondering if Spock would have done this to her when they first met.

"He could have, Roberta, but he wouldn't have. It would have been a violation of the Prime Directive."

"How would it have been, Pavel? I thought your Prime Directive only applied to alien cultures."

"By our standards, Earth in the twentieth century qualifies as a primitive alien culture. Even though you pulled off Spock's hat and found out that he was an alien, he was still obligated not to do anything to violate Starfleet's non-interference directive."

As he spoke, Roberta realized that she was no longer wearing her necklace of Spican flame gems. Isis had forgotten to return it to her. Apologizing telepathically, the Bast, having returned to her cat form, slipped into the next room to retrieve it. After morphing back into her human form, she handed it back to her. Roberta thanked her, and then instantly found out that Seven had gone back to Sarpeidon for some reason. Very concerned for his safety, thinking that he had gone from the proverbial frying pan into the fire, she stood a little too quickly…and vanished.


	14. The Enemy Without

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 14

* Historical note: The episode I have used in this chapter was the first instance in which the Vulcan neck pinch was used.

Before Roberta could utter a sound, Pavel and Maury vanished before her eyes. They were replaced by swirling psychedelic colors, like in Romper Room's magic mirror. Dizzy and increasingly disoriented, she gasped as she lost her equilibrium and fell backwards into nothingness. She did not know if she was screaming, but she felt very frightened, not knowing what was happening to her; not yet ready to accept the fact that she was part space alien, despite the mounting evidence that confirmed that fact. For what seemed like an eternity, she flailed helplessly in the nothingness, unable to see. Terrified, she shut her eyes, and then finally her backside and her head made contact with something solid. She didn't lose consciousness this time, but for a moment, she sat dazed, not knowing where she had landed.

Captain Kirk had not felt like himself ever since he beamed up from planet Alpha 177, and had learned the shocking news that he had somehow been split into two people by a strange transporter glitch. The animal part of his nature had been loose on his ship, had savagely demanded Saurian brandy from McCoy, had attacked Yeoman Rand and had injured two other members of his crew. Kirk found that he was rapidly losing his ability to concentrate on his job. Spock had given the imposter something called a Vulcan nerve pinch* in engineering, causing the phaser the double was holding to discharge, damaging a major part of the transporter mechanism. Kirk now wondered if Spock had any other interesting abilities, but could not think of a way to get his men back up from the surface before they froze to death. He felt utterly helpless as his helmsman made a desperate plaintive last plea for help from below. Now he had a new distraction and concern. Lieutenant Riley had just called him on the intercom and announced that a strange terrified young woman had just appeared in his quarters.

Riley was hard at work in his quarters on computations to submit to Scott on how to get the transporter working at peak efficiency again. The task seemed daunting. Sulu and the others on the planet were good friends of his, and so he was highly motivated to come up with a solution to their dilemma. He kept thinking of the space spaniel they had beamed aboard. The only solution that he could think of was to put the alien dogs back together. He also, being another one of Seven's covert agents, but deep undercover, had been informed that soon he would meet a new agent with an extraordinary ability. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of light and a rainbow of swirling colors surrounding a young woman he had never seen before as she appeared in the corner of his sleeping area. He put his pencil down and went to her.

She was dazed and visibly shaken; obviously too terrified to open her eyes. She was dressed very strangely, as if she had just beamed in from a nineteen sixties party, and Riley soon realized that this new arrival was probably the new agent he was expecting, being that she obviously was from the same era as Mr. Seven. He noticed her necklace of Spican flame gems, however, and wondered how a young lady from the twentieth century could have acquired them. It was not often that a new crew member such as himself had any kind of weird experience, but he welcomed this lovely young distraction. He knelt down and offered her a hand up. At first, she drew back, but after many assurances that she was safe and that he had no intention of harming her, she accepted. He placed her in a soft cushy easy chair as he called the captain and Dr. McCoy.

"What's your name?" He asked her gently as her vision began to clear.

"You first" She answered, still trembling from fear and uncertain of her surroundings. "Where am I?"

"My name is Kevin Riley. You are on a starship called the Enterprise."

"Roberta…my name is Roberta Lincoln." She tried to stand but her legs gave out on her. Her head was throbbing and she still felt dizzy. She was also trying to think of a reason as to why she would materialize here, but could not come up with a plausible one.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Lincoln" Riley said gently, noticing her astounded expression as he kept her from falling. "Are you all right? Where did you come from?" He knew that his second question was kind of stupid, but he had to keep up appearances as being just an ordinary human crewman of the starship Enterprise.

Maury and Chekov stared at the space where Roberta had vanished in shock and dismay. Maury then figured that Chekov had something to do with her disappearance, grabbed him by the collar and pushed the Russian to the wall.

"All right, Russkie! What happened to my girl?"

"Hey, Maury, take it easy! I'm just as in the dark as you are! I have no idea what happened to her!"

To Maury's astonishment, an alien suddenly appeared in a flash of light. Chekov recognized the new arrival immediately as Roberta's Q friend.

"Quinn! Tell this guy that I had nothing to do with Roberta's disappearance!"

"Let him go, Maury. He's telling the truth. I helped Roberta transport to a fairly safe location, giving her pretty colors to look at. I thought they would ease her transition from being just an ordinary human being, but they had the opposite effect, the poor darling. I was also trying to get her mind off of Mr. Seven and I decided to give her a simple little puzzle to solve on the good ship Enterprise."

Maury did as he was told, a little startled at the new arrival's sudden appearance. Then, he grinned after apologizing to Chekov for the second time.

"She's on the Enterprise?" He asked in astonishment.

"Yes. I placed her in a cute little first season episode called "The Enemy Within"." He looked at Chekov and smiled at him. "Relax, Pavel. She won't meet your younger self, being she was transported to a time when you were still at Starfleet Academy. However, she will probably blow her cover. If or when she does, I will erase everyone's memories of her stay on board the famous starship. After her little Quantum Leap task, I will help her get back home." Quinn could not tell them of her growing fear of him, but being thousands of years older, knew perfectly well that Roberta was not the girl for him. He had decided that Maury was a better person for her. He just hoped that she wouldn't feel badly when he decided to do himself in from sheer boredom, and not because she rejected his advances.

Maury grinned again, thinking that the puzzle his girlfriend was about to solve was indeed an easy one. He knew, of course, that they could have used a shuttle craft to retrieve their people on the surface. He hoped Roberta knew that as well. He did not know what the Q meant by 'Quantum Leap', but Chekov did. Even if the Star Trek episode in question still remained the same, in the reality where the Q had placed her, she could fix something that once went horribly wrong.


	15. What Really Happened

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Fifteen

On Sarpeidon, Mr. Seven regained consciousness after both he and Cochran were nearly killed by Zor-con's band of thugs for the unlawful seduction of the beautiful Zarabeth. He found that he was shackled by his ankles in an underground dungeon. As his eyes grew adjusted to the decreased light of the cell, he could see Mr. Cochran, also chained up, on the other side of the room. Sliding himself to a more comfortable sitting position, he felt for his servo, relieved that they had not bound his hands as well and also relieved to find it; now coming to the conclusion that Zor-con's men must have thought it was some sort of writing instrument. He took it out of his breast pocket to examine it in the dim light. It appeared to be undamaged. He wished he could say the same for poor Mr. Cochran, who appeared to be near death. Seven surmised that his unfortunate companion probably needed medical attention, but doubted very much that anyone on this planet cared, with the possible exception of the lovely Zarabeth. He could still recall her screams when Zor-con's men burst through the doors of her dwelling and began to club poor Cochran over the head and kicked him mercilessly as he lay bloodied and unconscious on the floor. They had dragged poor Zarabeth away, kicking and screaming, intending to put her into Sarpeidon's ice age with the aid of the plundered and newly discovered actavacron time portal. Zor-con, being physically attractive, could have any woman on the planet, but thought that if he could not have Zarabeth, then no one else had the right to have her either.

Kirk had escaped the wrath of Zor-con by sheer luck. He and the lovely agent named Scarlet were on the other side of town in a pub, inquiring about the whereabouts of Cochran, and soon learning that they had been captured by the brutal tyrant. He would have to launch a rescue attempt, realizing how important Mr. Cochran was to the fate of his planet. He also hoped that Mr. Seven was all right.

Seven was glad that the Q known as Quinn had diverted the destination of Miss Lincoln's first teleport to the Enterprise and during the time of its first year of deep space exploration. If she had arrived on Sarpeidon to this time and place, she may have suffered a fate worse than death. With these things in mind, Seven activated his servo. After releasing himself from the primitive shackles, he limped painfully over to Cochran and did the same for him, at the same time checking for a pulse. The unfortunate man was alive, but would need help soon. Seven reset his device to communications mode, still not able to see very well in the darkness of the cell. To his relief, he found that it was linked to Riley's communicator on the starship Enterprise. Riley's MIB communicator was designed to resemble a regular Starfleet issue one, so nobody on the starship would get suspicious. It was also on a frequency not used on the Enterprise, so Uhura would not pick up on it. Riley, whose number was 159, kept it hidden while he was on duty and only used it when he was in his quarters and out of earshot of anyone who happened to venture near.

Supervisor 194 had known all along about Miss Lincoln's true lineage. The Beta Five computer had tipped him off when it gave unusual details about her, such as her small mole on her left shoulder and her birth mark. He knew right then and there that minor details such as these were only mentioned when someone was either directly or indirectly linked to the MIB organization of which he was a part. He hadn't recognized the young lady at first. She had been an infant the last time he saw her. Her mother's wish that she not be told about her alien half until she was a fully fledged agent made sense. If someone from outside the organization found out, it would have put all their lives at risk, not to mention dire consequences for the entire organization. They could have all ended up in an alien "autopsy" video. Seven activated the servo communicator and spoke.

"Supervisor 194 to 159. Has the pretty little package arrived safely?"

"Yes, indeed she has, sir. McCoy brought her to sickbay. She hit her head on my wall when she arrived. I'm also concerned that the Kirk duplicate might harm her." Riley was also worried that the transporter might not be fixed in time to rescue the stranded landing party from the surface of Alpha 177. "Sir, you sound tired. Are you all right?"

"Don't be concerned about me, 159. I wouldn't worry about Miss Lincoln either. As you know, McCoy has enough sedatives to knock out a herd of charging rhinos if he attempts to hurt 258. Has Fisher's double been found yet?"

Startled at this question, Riley hadn't realized that the geological technician who tried to help Yeoman Rand fend off the animal side of Kirk also had a duplicate, so intent was he at solving the problems with the transporter.

"Fisher has a double?"

"You didn't know?"

The Q named Quinn suddenly appeared in Riley's quarters. Riley, not knowing who he was, headed for his top dresser drawer for his servo. The stranger stopped him in mid-stride with a wave of his hand.

"Of course he has a double, Mr. Riley. Relax, I won't hurt you. My name is Quinn and I'm a friend of Roberta's. It took a little longer for him to appear and he's quite deranged. The poor chap is suffering from transporter psychosis. Why should Kirk have all the fun?"

Suddenly an alert alarm went off and the uncertain voice of the gentle Kirk could be heard over the intercom. The being known as Quinn released Riley from whatever was holding him. He stared at the intruder in astonishment.

"_Alert…alert...This is the captain speaking. There has been an unauthorized launch of our shuttle craft. Someone…using Fisher's codes has taken it. There is a…uh…possibility that Mr. Fisher was duplicated as well and is at large. Be on the lookout for him…He might be dangerous. If you see him, approach with extreme caution."_

The United Earth Space Probe Agency did not have much foresight when it came to the shuttle crafts. It had supplied the Enterprise with only one for its maiden voyage into the unknown. They figured since everyone was so dependant on transporter technology that one was sufficient. Of course, they would find out how wrong they were and change their minds later on.

Floyd Fisher's last assignment before being transferred to the Enterprise was on a planet named Dylinia Two. He was there as a prospecting advisor, to help new young miners identify and process di-lithium crystals. Unknown to him, he was the very first victim of a new disorder called transporter psychosis; there had been something wrong with their transporter system and his mind had been affected. When he had taken the fall on Alpha 177, his depth perception had been off and his vision was starting to deteriorate. He also found that it was getting increasingly hard for him to concentrate on his job, he seemed to be thirsty all the time, and he couldn't sleep at night. He meant to see McCoy about his symptoms, but was unsure if he should. He thought his symptoms were just a case of nerves associated with being transferred to his new position on the Federation's flagship.

When Fisher regained consciousness after being attacked by the captain's double, he could hear the captain's and Rand's voices in the next room. By now, his vision was quite blurry and his heart raced as he sat up in bed. As he swung his legs to the side, he saw a blurry image of a young woman in the bed next to him. He couldn't see her very well, but figured that she must be a part of the crew, despite her strange apparel. He stood carefully, using the edge of the bed for support. Stumbling towards the threshold to the next room, he leaned against it, feeling weak.

"Yeoman…it wasn't me!" The captain said to the attractive blonde in the red uniform.

"It was you, sir!" Fisher said uncomfortably.

"Do you know what you're saying?"

"Yeah…I know what I'm saying."

McCoy grabbed him by the shoulder and he almost fell over.

"Back to bed, bucko."

McCoy had given Roberta a mild sedative. She found that she still needed rest after suffering from a previous head injury caused by the evil Mr. Bester from the alternate universe. When she saw the swirling colors, she was frightened because she thought that either someone had slipped her some LSD or that she was having a stroke. The sedative that McCoy had given her helped soothe her frazzled nerves, and he assured her that she was going to be fine, but she still wondered about the colors as she started to drift off into a light sleep. However, when she heard the familiar exchange of dialog in the next room, her eyes snapped open in astonishment.

The Fisher double materialized after Rand was attacked. Breathing heavily and hallucinating that the very astonished transporter technician on duty, whose name was Heisenberg, was a big ugly Klingon, he took the technician's phaser and quickly set it to what he thought was the "kill" setting. Being extremely nearsighted, he could not tell. Quickly, the Fisher duplicate raced out of the transporter room, his heart pounding with fear. Somehow, he made it to the shuttle bay and boarded the lone shuttlecraft. Using his counterpart's codes, he made off with it, setting the viewing screen to maximum so he could see better. In addition to his aggravated condition of transporter psychosis, the Fisher double was also a kleptomaniac.


	16. Fishing for Fisher

Unlucky Seven

Chapter Sixteen

*Author note: I came up with a first name for the geological technician, being that the author of this episode neglected to give him one. I thought he kind of looked like a Floyd.

Maury and Pavel watched as Mrs. Lincoln paced worriedly inside the new UESPA secret service facility on the planet Thasus. They had gotten there with the aid of Roberta's transporter, which was hidden in her bedroom closet in her brownstone apartment. They could sense that, like any mother, Mrs. Lincoln was worried about the health and well-being of her only daughter. She had thought it was only a slight possibility that Roberta could teleport spontaneously, given the fact that she was only half El-Aurian. It was unusual enough for a full blooded member of her species to physically travel with just their minds, so Mrs. Lincoln was shocked that her daughter had such ability. Even though Guinan had assured her that Roberta was in no immediate danger and by this time Captain Kirk was back to his normal self, and the landing party had finally been rescued from the frozen planet, there were still the matters of geological technician Fisher's other half being still at large, and the two Fishers' deteriorating mental conditions. The long range sensors had also been damaged at the same time as the transporter and were still under repair. Spock had suggested that they find out all they can about their new young guest. He sensed that she had the gift of telepathy, and seemed to know a lot about them and was quite at ease, despite being from the twentieth century. She had suggested that she might have the ability to find the other Fisher and help him return to the Enterprise. The captain and Spock were both skeptical about her claims, but since the sensors were badly damaged when the other Kirk phasered the transporter mechanism, they felt that her offer was something to consider. However, her safety was paramount. The captain felt that she would be putting herself in danger if the other Fisher was as violent as his counterpart had been. The Fisher on the Enterprise was getting worse, and McCoy suspected brain damage of some type, but he could not pinpoint the cause. By now, the man was hallucinating that they were all giant rabbits. Being that he was getting too weak to walk, McCoy decided to sedate him. At the moment, Fisher was asleep, but still convinced that the Enterprise had been invaded by giant furry beasts. However, since those beasts still had the familiar faces of his shipmates, it was easy enough to convince him that he was hallucinating. The transporter technician named Heisenburg who was attacked by the Fisher double was also recovering in sickbay, a victim of a heavy phaser stun. The young lady who had appeared in Riley's quarters had recovered quickly, and was now in assigned guest quarters. There was no doubt in McCoy's mind that the captain was going to interrogate her soon to find out who she was and what she was doing on the Enterprise.

"Oh my poor baby!" Mrs. Lincoln said tearfully. "I should have been there for her. I might have helped prevent the teleportation."

"There is nothing you could have done, Mrs. Lincoln." Chekov assured her gently. "The Q probably had a hand in teleporting her to the Enterprise for her own safety and to get her mind off of Supervisor 194. Before she disappeared, she was worried about him and may have wanted to join him on Sarpeidon. If she had gone there, she would have put herself in far more danger."

"Yes, of course, Mr. Chekov. I know that, but what about that Fisher guy? In the state he's in, he could kill her."

"I doubt that." Chekov said reassuringly. "His good half is on the ship. His condition is still in its early stages. It's his demented half who took the shuttle craft."

"Why would the Q think that Roberta could be of any help? What could she do?"

"She's hardly a baby, Mrs. Lincoln." Maury said gently. "Besides that you are forgetting about her groovy necklace endowed with Q powers." Chekov grinned and nodded in agreement, recalling what that piece of jewelry did to the Borg queen. When she had tried to remove it from Roberta's neck, she received an electrical shock of respectable voltage; enough to disable the entire collective so Roberta could be rescued.

"You have never had children, Maury. She will always be my baby, no matter how old she gets."

Floyd Fisher, still breathing heavily and thinking that he was in mortal danger, was finding it more and more difficult to see the controls. He knew that he was taxing the engines and running out of fuel, but he had to get away. The Klingon ships he saw on the aft screen were hot on his trail and were approaching fast. According to what he could still see on the sensor readouts, they were powering up their weapons and getting ready to attack. There was no doubt in his mind that they had taken over the Enterprise, and now they were after him for killing their man in the transporter room. Beads of sweat were on his brow and with his uninjured hand he tried to wipe them away. He knew that his other hand was becoming infected, but he felt that that was the least of his problems. His heart was racing, his throat was dry, and as he looked down at the cut on his right hand, he saw Regulan blood worms and red alien eyes emerging from the stinging festering wound. He screamed in terror. Panic set in as he stumbled towards the weapons locker. If he was going to lose the ability to maintain orbit, he would have to defend himself from the Klingons. He would not go down without a fight. Trying to keep his eyes from the terrifying developments on his hand, and squinting at the forward screen, he saw that he was approaching a more temperate planet in this star system, Alpha 175. He managed to achieve standard orbit before passing out from sheer exhaustion and fright.

In the other time line, Quinn had transported Kirk and Cochran onto the cloaked Enterprise. Scarlet had decided to stay with Mr. Seven in Sarpeidon's past, and with the aid of the Actavacron, were now on their way back to the twentieth century and then to Earth. Before he had left the ship with the Q being, Kirk had decided to be honest with his crew, telling them that the Enterprise was there under cloak to prevent the cybernetic species called the Borg from assimilating them and Mr. Cochran, who was now in sickbay. He was suffering from internal injuries from the beating he had received at the hands of Zor-con's goons, but McCoy was confident that he could pull him through. After he recovered, he would be transported back to Alpha Centauri after the danger of assimilation by the Borg had passed.

When Fisher came to, he saw that he was not alone on the shuttlecraft. A young woman he had never seen before, dressed in a blue Starfleet uniform, was bending over him, looking at him curiously. He stared back at her, not quite sure if she was real or just an hallucination. He decided on the latter and retrieved his dropped phaser. He aimed it at her the best he could, but she made no menacing moves. Nor was she carrying any weapons he could see. He thought he was fortunate to be left handed.

"Put your ray gun down, Mr. Fisher. I'm not going to hurt you. I am here to help you. Besides, if you pull the trigger, you will only give this little ship a hull breach."

"Who are you and why should I listen to you? For all I know, you could be some Klingon wench in disguise." Fisher asked, still keeping the phaser steady. He noticed her necklace of Spican flame gems, and thought that the young intruder was in violation of the Starfleet dress code. They also clashed with her blue uniform.

"My name is Roberta and I'm as real as you are, Mr. Fisher. There are no Klingons chasing you. You are hallucinating. If I'm a Klingon, I'm a friendly one. Captain Kirk contacted your former superiors at your last posting, and found out that you might have contracted a new brain disorder they are calling transporter psychosis. I have telepathically projected myself here on this shuttle with the help of a friend of mine and Mr. Spock. If you fire, you won't hurt me. You will only succeed in hurting yourself. You were also split into two people by the transporter by the yellow ore on your suit. You need to come back to the Enterprise so McCoy can help you." The young woman, despite her claims that she was a projection, seemed relieved when he lowered his weapon. He still looked at her suspiciously.

"You're new at this, aren't you? You should know that there is no such thing as a friendly Klingon. Besides, I doubt that McCoy can fix this!" He raised his right hand,thinking that she could see what he was seeing. Of course, all she saw was a badly infected wound. Fisher paused and took another long look at the strange young woman. She didn't look old enough to be a Starfleet officer, and he decided after a while that perhaps she wasn't a delusion after all. She looked like she was going to argue with him, but then seemed to think better of it. He was still afraid to go back to the ship, however, still convinced it had been taken over by Klingons.


	17. Fisher's Great Escape

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 17

*Author note: I'm taking great creative license here in making our lovely unfortunate Orion canon character from "Whom Gods Destroy" a Starfleet officer.

*Additional note: I borrowed transporter psychosis from the Next Gen episode "Realm of Fear".

It had been Mr. Spock's idea to make it appear as if Miss Lincoln had donned a Starfleet uniform. She was actually still wearing her A-line dress with the red printed flowers. He thought that her appearance as a member of the crew would be a contributing factor in assuring the more insane Mr. Fisher that he was not being pursued by the Klingons. However, he was beginning to realize that the Fisher on the shuttlecraft, like his counterpart in sickbay, was having problems separating reality from his delusions. Spock had learned much about the mysterious young lady and found it fascinating that she was apparently not meeting certain members of the Enterprise crew for the first time; namely himself and the captain- even though they had never seen her before. He also found it curious that Riley seemed to be more knowledgeable about her than he let on, but he decided not to question him about it. Spock was impressed with how the navigator had been instrumental in helping Mr. Scott behind the scenes by rigging up bypasses and leader circuits to correct the transporter malfunction. Also, when transporter technician Heisenberg recovered from the heavy phaser stun, he came up with an ingenious device that hooked into the main system which everyone, including the captain, dubbed the Heisenberg Compensator. The device corrected the built-in fault with the transporter that contributed to the malfunction caused by the magnetic yellow ore. He was promoted to assistant transporter chief. Scotty was so impressed with his device that he had the captain contact Starfleet about having one installed in the system on Dylinia Two, so no one else would have to suffer from the new malady called transporter psychosis.* There had been another confirmed case of the new malady a week after Fisher had been posted to the Enterprise: a female Orion named Lieutenant Marta.*

Right now, the Fisher in sickbay was still resting comfortably, but getting weaker by the minute. If his counterpart on the shuttlecraft was not found and rescued soon, they would both quite probably die. Just like with the Kirk double, the medical staff was observing Mr. Fisher's bodily functions weakening. McCoy could only imagine what the other Fisher was going through, having not had the benefit of his services. He only hoped the Fisher on the shuttlecraft would be strong and sane enough upon his return from the appropriated shuttlecraft to hold his double on the transporter pad long enough to be re-integrated. If the young lady named Miss Lincoln was successful, the two Fishers just might be saved. To his relief and the captain's, the long-range sensors had just been repaired, and Farrell was able to pick up the other Fisher's life signs and the shuttle's signature in orbit around the tropical planet named Alpha 175. If all went well, it wouldn't be long now.

Roberta and Spock both knew that she wasn't having much luck convincing this Mr. Fisher that he wasn't really being pursued by the Klingons. Then, she suddenly found that her mind was being filled with logical questions to ask him, thanks to Spock.

"Mr. Fisher…Are we anywhere near Klingon territory?"

The man's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he squinted in her direction. Even if this young woman was new to being posted to the Federation's flag ship, she should have known the answer to that. They were not anywhere near enemy territory, but, of course, that didn't mean much to him.

"No…we aren't, little figment of my imagination. But the Klingons like to sneak around and pick fights."

"Only if they are provoked, sir. I know a little bit about Klingon culture, having learned about them from Mr. Spock. They wouldn't be in pursuit of you if they were involved in a fight aboard your ship. They would be happy that their man died in battle, and according to them, he would be on his way to their version of Valhalla. You also were unconscious for quite a while until you woke up and noticed me. Don't you think they would have caught up with you by now? Also, I don't think they would dare mount an assault on board the Enterprise. No offense, sir, but they would have to be crazier than you are. Besides…" She continued with a smile. "Wouldn't you like to help your shipmates defeat them instead of turning tail and running?"

"You make a few valid points, little figment…but you can't be real. I don't believe in you. You are one of them and are just trying to get me to come back to the Enterprise so you can finish me off." He stood, using the bulkhead for support, still having his sidearm aimed at the young girl, and took another glance at his aft screen, still seeing the Klingon ships. Then, she observed him with some trepidation as he went to some sort of control apparatus beside what appeared to be a transporter alcove. Too late, she realized what he was about to do and watched in horror as he dematerialized.

Mr. Seven and Scarlet, after giving Supervisor 193 (aka Mr. Atoz) some last minute instructions concerning the deployment of the Tox Utat, stepped into the Actavacron and went back to Sarpeidon's twentieth century. To their horror, upon their arrival in Sarpeidon's twentieth century, the Borg were waiting for them and immediately recaptured Mr. Seven and assimilated both him and Scarlet. When Seven was reconnected to the hive, he found out that the Borg had known what the planet's officials were planning, but could do nothing to stop the exodus of the planet's inhabitants. Moments after their departure into Sarpeidon's past, Kirk Spock and McCoy materialized into the "library", about to begin their adventures on the planet.


	18. Bring Him Back Alive

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 18

Author note: I had to do a bit of research online for this chapter, for I am not an expert on spiders.

Melding minds with Mr. Spock was a totally new and unique experience for Roberta. Never before had she mentally connected with someone in such a manner and with an extraterrestrial to boot. She now knew why her mother was the way she was. She wasn't a snob at all, but was only being overly cautious. It must have been very difficult for her parents to keep the fact that she was part space alien a secret. It was now obvious to Roberta that her parents were primarily concerned for her safety. She could recall many occasions when she saw her mother without her wig on. Her mom had used the very plausible explanation that she suffered from alopecia. As for the port wine stain on the top of her head, she had shrugged it off as an unusual birthmark.

Roberta sat at the briefing room table now with Captain Kirk, Spock and McCoy. They were planning on beaming to the surface of Alpha 175, after the Enterprise sensors had picked up on the other Floyd Fisher's life signs. Roberta could tell that McCoy was anxious to get going. The other Mr. Fisher in sickbay would have to be reintegrated soon with his insane counterpart on the surface of this mysterious world or they would both die. She could read in McCoy's thoughts with help from her Q necklace that he had brought the Fisher in sickbay to the transporter room and was going to put his two halves together as soon as the Fisher on the planet was beamed up safely to the ship. This meeting was going to be brief because of the urgency of the situation. The other Fisher lay on a stretcher, already in the transporter room, with two male nurses attending him.

"I'm very sorry, gentlemen. I didn't know that your shuttlecrafts in this era were equipped with transporters."

"It was not your fault, Miss Lincoln." The captain said softly. He paused in thought for a moment and continued. "This shuttlecraft is a prototype, given to us on a trial basis. It is one of a kind." The captain looked over at Spock. "Mr. Spock, what do we know about Alpha 175?"

"Very little, Captain. The planet has not yet been fully explored, due to the myriad of planetary bodies in this system and its relative size. It may interest you to know, Miss Lincoln, that this planet is fifty times larger than Earth. What we do know is that it is a class-M world, tropical in nature, with abundant animal and plant species, some of which may be hazardous to humanoid life. There are no detectable sentient indigenous life forms."

"Jim, what are we waiting for? We have to get down there and find Fisher, or both of them will die!"

"Easy, Bones. We will get there soon. We first have to find out what kind of reception you will receive and what you will be facing when you beam down."

"I should go with you, gentlemen. I could convince Fisher that I am a real person, and that might help him see we aren't Klingons."

"You are very brave, Miss Lincoln." The captain said with a smile. "However, we can't risk beaming you down with us. You might get hurt."

Roberta smiled back at him.

"You forget, sir, that I have these Spican flame gems to protect me." She paused, raising the sparkling necklace to eye level. "I also know a good doctor if I get into any kind of trouble." She glanced back at McCoy, who returned her smile.

"Very well. You may be a part of the landing party, but be careful. Spock, have the quartermaster issue her a Starfleet uniform. You, McCoy and Miss Lincoln will beam down with two security officers. Phasers must be set on stun. Don't fire unless he's armed. Dismissed."

As soon as they materialized on the planet, Spock took hold of his tricorder to scan for human life readings. They were standing in a shaded clearing. It wasn't long until he located the other Fisher. He was unconscious, apparently after trying to hide behind a large boulder. McCoy knelt beside him and checked for a pulse, and then, finding one, took out his medical scanner and waved it over him as the others looked on. The two security officers looked around warily. Spock had ordered one of them, a guy named Leslie, to guard Roberta, since she was a civilian and not used to these kinds of situations, being from the twentieth century and all.

"What is his condition, Doctor?" Spock inquired, also keenly aware that there might be dangers on the planet.

"He's suffering from heat exhaustion, and brain waves indicate acute paranoia." He turned Fisher's injured hand to examine it. Quickly, seeing the severity of his injury, he took out some kind of medicine and sprayed it on the wound, arresting the infection. Bandaging the hand, he looked up at Spock. "Let's get him off this rock now."

As Spock felt for his communicator, Roberta took a look around curiously. The clearing was lined with odd-looking thick foliage which looked like it was coated by hair.

"What strange looking trees!" She remarked, noticing now that they were surrounded by them along the edges of the clearing. She gently touched one of them.

"They are not trees, Miss Lincoln." Spock informed her softly. She followed his upward gaze and gasped in horror, screamed in terror at the creature's sharp deadly-looking huge mandibles above their heads, and fell in a dead faint. Leslie caught her before she hit the ground. Fortunately, the huge arachnid took no notice of them, being that they were very small in comparison.

McCoy glared at Spock for a moment.

"You just had to open your big Vulcan mouth, now, didn't you? Now I have two patients!"

"So you do, Doctor." Spock responded calmly, unphased. He looked down at poor Roberta dispassionately. "Hmmm…arachnophobia."

"No shit, Sherlock!" McCoy growled, also frightened but not showing it.

The two security guards stared at the creature above them in shock and wonder. Finally, the other one found his voice.

"What kind of a spider is that?"

Spock, with outward calm, studied the creature closely.

"That is an extremely large pholcus phalangioides."

"A daddy long legs, Spock? Hardly." McCoy said. "The legs are too hairy. It looks like a cross between that and a pelinobius muticus, better known as a king baboon tarantula." He paused, getting both Fisher and Roberta ready for transport.

Spock raised an eyebrow.

"Your knowledge of arthropods is quite impressive, Doctor. I agree with your assessment. How do you know so much about arachnids?"

"I'm a doctor, remember? We are trained to identify these things, since most spiders are venomous…So what? Big deal! Let's get off this planet before we become lunch!"


	19. Sickbay

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 19

Dr. McCoy, his hands full with the reintegrated Mr. Fisher, who, disappointingly, was still firmly convinced that the crew was comprised of blood thirsty Klingons instead of friendly sentient giant bunnies, had left Nurse Chapel in charge of tending to Miss Lincoln. Readings indicated that the poor young lady was in deep shock, and McCoy couldn't blame her one bit for fainting when she saw the enormous arachnid on the planet's surface. He had been pretty startled by it as well as the security guards; the one who had caught Roberta especially so. McCoy wished that the captain had made her stay on board, even though it had been her decision to accompany the landing party. As a civilian, she had the right to do whatever she wanted. However, he felt her choice was a poor one, as well as the captain's for letting her go.

Leslie and Riley had stuck around in sickbay until McCoy shooed them out, assuring them that their young guest from the twentieth century was going to recover. They left reluctantly as the captain stepped into the room. Both men were off duty, so Kirk didn't give them a hard time. Spock, in true Vulcan fashion, had acted like the incident on the planet was no big deal, so the captain was curious as to why the young lady was so frightened by a mere spider. McCoy was making sure that the restraints that were holding Fisher were secure as Kirk approached him.

"Hi, Bones. How are Mr. Fisher and the young lady?"

"Hello, Captain." McCoy answered, giving the overhead readings another look. He sighed and shook his head. They had pumped Fisher full of tranquilizers, and he was asleep at the moment. "Physically, he's fine. However…his mind is deteriorating at an alarming rate. I'm sorry, Jim. He is no longer mentally fit for duty. He will have to be committed to Elba Two. That's the best mental hospital facility that I know about."

"Agreed, Bones. It's a pity that this had to happen to him. He was a good officer." Kirk then glanced over at Miss Lincoln, who was at last regaining consciousness. "And what about little Miss Muffet?"

McCoy glared at him for a moment.

"That's not very damn funny! She's had quite a bad scare."

"Over a spider?"

"It was no ordinary spider, Captain. It was humungous."

"How humungous?"

"Have you ever seen the movie "Eight Legged Freaks"? Multiply the size of those beasts by a factor of one hundred. Poor little Miss Lincoln thought that one of its legs was a tree trunk!"

It was now time for the captain to look startled.

"Say that again, Bones?"

"You heard me, Jim. That creepy crawly monster was at least sixty feet tall!"

"No wonder she fainted." The captain said softly in astonishment.

By now, Roberta was sitting up in bed, visibly shaken but obviously glad to be off that planet and back in somewhat familiar surroundings. She felt as if she could use a good shower to get the crawly feeling on her skin to cease. Roberta wondered to herself why she was still here in this episode as Nurse Chapel handed her a glass of hot milk laced with vanilla to calm her nerves. She thanked her in a whisper, coming to two possible conclusions: one that perhaps the Q also thought she needed to toughen up as well as Mr. Seven and the other that she was still here to convince Mr. Fisher that he was among friends and not fiends. She felt, however, that she would much prefer a whole squadron of Klingon war ships or a ship full of Harveys to those terrifying creatures on the planet's surface.

"He's not exaggerating, Captain Kirk." She addressed him in a shaky voice, taking a sip of her drink. It was very good. "I have never seen the movie that the doctor mentioned, but I have seen something like it in a movie from the late fifties called "The Angry Red Planet". This beast was, of course, a hundred times scarier than that." She shuttered, still picturing the big ugly thing in her mind.

"Are you all right, my dear?" The captain asked her compassionately.

The girl nodded her head in the affirmative, a little calmer, and then glanced at the comatose Mr. Fisher in concern as Spock entered the room, overhearing their conversation.

"Greetings, Miss Lincoln. I am pleased that you are recovering. If you are referring to the planet Mars, it has no indigenous life forms."

"It was nice of you to burst her bubble, Spock." McCoy said softly.

Roberta smiled a little.

"He didn't really, Dr. McCoy. I was informed by Supervisor 194 that Mars was lifeless. What about our other nearest neighbor? Is it really composed of glamorous telepathic women and lush rain forests?"

"If you are referring to Venus, definitely not. The thick cloud cover you see through your Earth-bound telescopes is composed of sulfuric acid and the atmosphere with mostly carbon dioxide…a most inhospitable place and deadly to humans or humanoid life forms. Also, the surface temperature averages eight hundred degrees Fahrenheit."

"Like wow! Our scientists are way off!" She gasped, her eyes widening.

"Don't feel too badly, Roberta. Those facts were not made public until the early nineteen nineties." Chapel said gently, knowing that she was from the nineteen sixties. "Now it's time for you to get some rest."

"I am starting to feel a bit groggy. You put something in this toddy, didn't you?"

"Yes, a mild sedative." Chapel took the cup out of her hand as she settled back into bed. "Don't worry about Fisher. He will still be here when you wake up."

"But…will I be here?"

Her question went unanswered as she drifted off to sleep.

Roberta found herself in a field of fragrant red poppies. The sun was shining and some birds were singing in some actual trees. She heard a familiar voice from behind and gasped in horror as she saw Gary Seven. His head was partially covered with Borg implants and he appeared to be struggling to keep himself from being completely swallowed up by them. Roberta didn't scream this time, suddenly realizing that she was getting used to odd occurrences like this. Perhaps her recent frightening experiences were making her stronger after all. However, her eyes pooled with tears of sympathy as he spoke to her.

"They've got me again, Roberta….There isn't much time. Soon they will find out where the real Zefram is hiding, about the secret planet and about the one hundred and ninety three other MIB bases scattered throughout the galaxy. I need your help."

"What can I do, sir?"

"When you awaken, you need to convince Mr. Fisher that the Klingons have not invaded the Enterprise. When you do that the Q will bring you back home to the twentieth century. When you get there, tell Pavel that Scarlet and I have been assimilated and that we need help. He will know what to do."

"How are you communicating with me? Mental telepathy?"

"Partly, I suppose..." He paused, noticing her Q necklace as it sparkled in the sunlight. " I am also using a frequency unknown at present to the Borg queen called Unimatrix Zero. You were connected to the hive once before as well. That might also have something to do with my being able to connect with you... I can only access this unimatrix when I am regenerating." He paused and looked around with slight amusement at what her mind conjured up. "The poppies from The Wizard of Oz?...How sweet." His face turned serious again as he continued. "Once the regeneration cycle is complete, I will have no memory of our conversation. I…don't know how I have been able to keep the information they are seeking from them or how long I will be able to keep them from finding things out. Please wake up soon... Hurry….please…"

"But, how do I…?" Her surroundings faded from view as did Mr. Seven as she awakened from her nap in the Enterprise sickbay.


	20. Helping Hands

Unlucky Seven

Chapter 20

Unknown to Mr. Seven and everyone else, Miss O'Neil, when Mr. Seven was still with Mr. Atoz instructing him on how to use the Tox Utat, had decided to make a doppelganger of herself, just in case. When they weren't watching, she quickly made herself invisible and soon watched in astonishment and horror as her double was assimilated with Mr. Seven. She transported unseen aboard the Borg cube with their new captives. With her telepathic abilities, she found out that each cube, like each beehive, had a queen and she was able to keep the Borg queen on this craft from finding out where the actual Zefram Cochran was hiding and the whereabouts of the one hundred and ninety-three other MIB bases scattered throughout the galaxy. With that accomplished, she set about sabotaging some of the non-essential systems on board the Borg vessel. Being that they couldn't see her or detect her presence, she was able to keep them busy so they wouldn't have time to get the information they were seeking from poor Mr. Seven. She didn't feel too guilty about her double, for she wasn't a real person. She was thankful for her Dowd half, to be sure. After a while, something very strange, quite amusing, and somewhat unexpected began to happen. She witnessed the entire Borg crew slowly turning into white mice, with the exceptions of Mr. Seven and her double; the crew's Borg paraphernalia dissolving before her still invisible eyes. The Borg queen was the first, and before she was fully transformed, she voiced her displeasure at having Mr. Seven slip through her fingers again, lamenting that someone always seemed to help that man. A much younger man appeared on the ship in a flash of light, telling the Borg queen before she lost sentience that someone once told him that there were a million things in this universe one could have and there was a million things one could not have; and the Borg could not have Mr. Seven. Then, O'Neil smiled when she watched Isis materialize on board the ship in cat form. She began to bat the inert disembodied queen around as if she were a cat toy while Mr. Seven, the young man and her double watched in amusement. Soon, confident that the other newly transformed Borg could no longer do anything but squeak and scurry away from a very amused black Bastet, the freed captives were transported back to where they belonged, their mission of protecting Mr. Cochran accomplished. Scarlet made her doppelganger disappear and made herself visible as The Q wiped all memories of Zefram Cochran being aboard the Enterprise near Sarpeidon. The discoverer of the space warp was whisked back to Alpha Centauri. No longer needing their benefactors' cloak, the Enterprise became visible as well and, after briefly puzzling over the strange Borg ship as it mysteriously vanished from the main viewing screen, they continued with their next mission, losing their memories of what had just transpired. Isis later explained to O'Neil that transforming the Borg crew was the brain child of the young man, whose name was Charlie Evans. Ever since he had been recaptured by his Thasian parents, and had joined Seven's covert organization, he had wanted to do something fun and constructive with his powers. Of course, transforming the entire Borg crew was no small feat. He had help from the Thasians and from Roberta's Q friend, Quinn.

When Roberta became a little more aware of her surroundings, she noticed without too much surprise that the scent of the poppies from her dream was the same as Nurse Chapel's perfume. Christine looked at her with compassion, noticing the tears on her cheeks.

"A bad dream, Miss Lincoln? You have only been asleep for about an hour."

"You might say that. However, I don't think it was all a dream." She tried to sit up, but felt a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder.

"You should rest, Roberta. There is still the sedative I gave to you in your system."

"I can't! Mr. Seven needs my help! I need to get up and convince Mr. Fisher that he is among his friends and shipmates so I can go home to help him!"

"Don't you like us? Besides, you are in no condition to get up at the moment. Stay in bed until the drug wears off."

"I like you fine, but you know as well as I do that I don't belong in your century. Please…help me go to him before it's too late!"

Chapel could sense the urgency in her voice and then decided not to argue. She helped her to her feet and brought her to the bedside of the deranged man. Despite the drugs in his system, he was regaining consciousness. Like Simon Van Gelder, he was soon very agitated, until he noticed with astonishment that Roberta was at his bedside.

"Roberta…my little figment…"

"I'm not a figment of your imagination, Floyd. I'm as real as you are." Seeing the doubtful expression on his face, she took a hold of his uninjured hand. He stared at her for a moment, becoming convinced that she was a real person. However, he was now watching with horror as his mind was transforming her into a Klingon. Sensing his sudden fright, she then thought of a different way to reach him. "Floyd, what you are seeing is not real. You are suffering from hallucinations. Besides…would a Klingon bother to heal your injuries?" Suddenly, she felt very dizzy from the effects of the sedative in her system. Chapel kept her from falling as Fisher considered her question. McCoy thought it was also a good idea to free his right arm from the security restraint, so he could see for himself that his hand was healed. Gratefully, but still warily, Fisher raised his right hand to examine it. The creatures and the alien eyes that he had seen on the shuttlecraft were gone. With a sigh of relief and tears of gratitude, he allowed the sedatives he had been given to do their work as Roberta was led back to her bed, satisfied that her mission on board the Enterprise was finally accomplished. As she drifted off to sleep, Chapel took some overhead readings as McCoy did the same for Fisher.

Suddenly, without really knowing why, Chapel wondered what she was doing beside an empty bed. McCoy called to her, also wondering the same thing.

"Christine, why are you standing there? Mr. Fisher needs to be carefully monitored."

"I…I'm not sure. For a moment, I thought there was a patient in that bed."

McCoy smiled.

"It's been a rough couple of days, Miss Chapel. Perhaps you have been working too hard."

"Yes…that must be it." She smiled a little sheepishly. "I don't usually monitor the conditions of nonexistent patients."

After shaking the hand of the recovering Captain Garth and noticing with relief that the new medicine they had brought to the insane asylum on Elba Two was working, Kirk and Spock then recalled that their former crewman, Floyd Fisher, was also an inmate. They asked Governor Cory if they could visit him and he agreed, bringing a hypo of the new medicine along so he could administer it.

They found that Mr. Fisher was in the isolation ward in a padded cell, and had not been freed when Captain Garth took over the asylum. Even Garth was not crazy enough to let a totally deranged man out of his cell. Even though he was also mentally ill, he had his standards. Fisher was in a straight jacket, rocking back and forth, saying a woman's name over and over. Cory explained that he had been like this for some time, and that he could not get an answer from him as to who Roberta was. Kirk, puzzled over the familiar name as well, watched as Cory opened the cell door. The governor knelt beside the unfortunate victim of transporter psychosis and gave him a shot of the medicine. Fisher's vision began to clear, and he soon noticed he had visitors. He stared at his former captain, grateful to at last see a familiar face.

"Captain? Is that really you, sir?" He tried to stand, but it was difficult with the straight jacket.

"Yes, Floyd." Kirk said with concern. "Spock is here too."

"Where is Roberta?"

"Roberta who?"

"Lincoln…Miss Lincoln. I want to see her again."

The mystery of how Floyd Fisher knew about the young woman from the twentieth century was never solved.

The end


End file.
